Walking past the bathroom, Baekhyun took a door that lead to the bustling kitchen of the event. Ignoring the looks that he got, he made his way to the back kitchen exit where he found Jongin waiting for him.

-

-

His jet black pants were skin tight, sticking onto his thighs perfectly as they shaped his legs. Baekhyun didn't just make sure that the pants were fireproof. He made sure they were fashionable as well. One couldn't rave chaos looking like a homeless man.

After his slender hands glided into his gloves, which were fire and water proof for safety reasons, Baekhyun picked up the sleeves to his one piece suit and began to put on the upper part of the uniform. Once his arms were slipped in, he turned his to Jongin, who was fully dressed and ready to go.

"Get off the bed and come zip this up."

Jongin sighed, complying with the order. "Maybe you should get a costume that's easier to put on by yourself."

"Then what's a sidekick for?" Baekhyun chuckled as he worked on putting on his dark helmet.

"Everything else."

-

-

Chanyeol liked to credit himself for being sharp when it came to his duty, so while Baekhyun was gone, he paid close attention to the details of the room to make sure that nothing was amiss. Every person that he talked to, he made sure to be cautious until he was sure that they were just normal class citizens excited to meet him.

Just when he was sure that everything was clear for no misdoings, the darkness hit the ballroom faster than Chanyeol could curse.

Piercing through his ears were the screams of all the people that he was just associating with minutes before. The first thought that came through his mind was Baekhyun. He was still in the men's room and Chanyeol cursed himself for not checking up on the male after his five minutes was due.

Instinctively he tried to pull away from his current dance partner at the time, but found that they would not let go. Initially, Chanyeol that they had frozen in fear and couldn't bear to let the one person that they had a grip to go, but then he realized that unlike the people around them, his dance partner wasn't screaming in fear.

Before he could logically debunk the reason as to why, the speakers were put to use, hurting everyone's ears as the sharp frequency lasted a few painful seconds. Along with everyone else in the dark, Chanyeol waited for an announcement-- some sort of excuse for the complete black out-- but instead heard the voice of someone who had been missing for quite some time.

"Testing, testing, can all of you hear me?"

Shadow.

"Oh, perfect."

Gritting his teeth, Chanyeol tried to pull away again, but just as his last attempt, he failed, feeling his partner gripping so tightly on his sleeve that he was worried it would tear. "Let go," he sternly muttered, not wanting to be loud. But his partner didn't heed.

"I hope you all had a nice little ball, because really, this venue was lovely." There was the sound of shuffling as Shadow fixed his microphone's position. "However, it's a little dark in here...Too dark."

Blind but still capable of hearing, Chanyeol read the thudding of boots that were distinctive in the room that had hushed silent the moment the villain began to speak.

"Isn't Park Chanyeol present here tonight?" Shadow asked, chuckling."Where are you, love? Aren't you going to come light this place up? Don't you want to see me? I am your favorite anti-hero, aren't I?"

Chanyeol kept silent, letting the villain ride out his remarks. But then he figured what the hell and switched his sight to night vision. Moving his head around, he tried to search for an individual that stood out and soon spotted a person who was pacing back and forth on the balcony above the grand staircase.

"Well, this is a shame, Park Chanyeol." Shadow sarcastically sighed. "I guess I'll have to light this place up myself."

The first scream came from his right. The second Chanyeol heard was from behind him. Soon, it was everywhere. From every direction, he heard the splashing of liquid and the terrified cries of people. Just as he was looking around, two glowing circles caught his eye.

He didn't know why he never picked up on it before, but his partner's eyes were glowing. Not in a romantic way.

Chanyeol's attention went to his arm. Finally, he tried using one of his own hands to push the grip away, but found that his female partner had the grip of steel. And that's when Chanyeol realized he messed up.

The woman only let him go when she needed both of her hands to catch a weapon that was thrown to her by another female who had the exact same glowing eyes. When Chanyeol saw that it was a makeshift flame thrower, he was taken aback with the instinct to immediately confiscate it.

But he wasn't quick enough.

An innocent man who looked as if he was doused with water blindly pushed his way around the crowd, having the unfortunate luck to stumble on the woman Chanyeol was standing in front of.

Pointing the device at the man, the woman showed no mercy as she flamed him from top to bottom.

In a panic, the man ran flailed his arms in the air, desperately crying and rolling on the floor in his attempt to put himself out of his fiery misery.

In the midst of all the chaos and as the number of burning people increased, Chanyeol heard the villain laughing as if it seeing people burn away was the funniest thing in the world.

"You wouldn't light up the room, so I did it for you," Shadow cracked, leaning against the balcony as he laughed and watched as it became possible to see in the room. "This is beautiful. It's like a bonfire, but with people instead of logs."

Never had Chanyeol seen Shadow do anything as drastic as burning people. The villain had attempted to blow up main bridges and destroy monumental buildings and skyscrapers, but never had he had the guts to douse people in gasoline and set them on fire.

Wherever Shadow had been for the last few months, Chanyeol knew that it wasn't spent just being idle.

Taking action, Chanyeol made a grab for the woman's weapon. If she was human, he wouldn't have used his super strength, but the moment that it clicked in his mind that she was not, he didn't hesitate. Curling his hands in a fist, he grabbed the weapon and pulled it forward, ultimately pulling the woman close enough to smash her face in.

The metal against his knuckles proved Chanyeol's suspicion. Beneath the synthetic skin, Chanyeol knew what was beyond the appearance was nothing more than advance mechanics.

As the female robot malfunctioned on the floor, Chanyeol turned his attention to the frantic citizens. "Get out!" he yelled as loud as he could. Grabbing men from the crowd, he instructed them the basic directions out of the dark.

Knowing that it was near impossible for many to find their way out of the chaotic room, Chanyeol made the choice to sacrifice some of the decorations. Shooting a spark of fire in four directions, he engulfed four decorative drapes that hung on the walls in flames, immediately making it possible for everyone to see.

Again, he shouted commands, telling people to evacuate. Once a flow began to head towards the front, Chanyeol focused on the people who still found themselves overwhelmed in flames. Throwing flares up towards the ceiling, Chanyeol triggered the water system.

As the water began to drench everyone and everything in the room, Chanyeol checked the ones on fire and froze in his place. Once the fire was put out, he saw that none of the people who were set aflame were burned or injured. He was just as baffled as they were. Just as the victims checked themselves for burn marks, Chanyeol did the same, going over every feature, but reaching the same conclusion as them.

Then the fizzling sound of machinery caught his ears' attention once the fire victims snapped out of their trance and ran out of the venue along with all the others. Turning around, Chanyeol witnessed as the robotic wenches began to malfunction under the falling water and dropped to the floor.

Snapping his eyes upwards, Chanyeol glared, fixing his attention at the villain who was nonchalantly leaning against the railing, watching as the venue cleared, leaving him alone with his failed efforts and mechanical henchwomen.

"I should've made them waterproof," Shadow drawled, moving his hand in slow motions. "Whoops."

Whoops?

Of all the things that villain could've done--scream, yell or curse in frustration-- he said whoops?

Chanyeol never knew what angle the anti-hero was playing from. In the past, his attacks always had flaws. The grenades that he had confiscated half a year ago were dissolvable by water. It was unfortunate for the villain seeing as how he decided to plot against Chanyeol on a bridge that was right above water.

He didn't know if Shadow was stupid and careless or if he liked watching Chanyeol go into a frantic frenzy trying to protect everyone from defective weapons. Either way, the villain's cocky attitude jerked the hero the wrong way. He was always acting as if he was the puppet master of the entire situation and Chanyeol was yet again one of his toys.

But Chanyeol was never a fan of Shadow's games.

By the time that the water system had finished dousing the entire ballroom with water and the lights had conveniently flickered back on, Chanyeol was soaked wet from head to toe compared to Shadow whose helmet and waterproof suit kept him dry.

"It's like you drained the blood out of this party," Shadow sighed, pushing himself upright. "Did you really have to evacuate everyone? Where's the fun in that?"

Clenching his fists, Chanyeol stood authoritatively against the villain who stood above him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I missed you. I thought I'd come and pay you a visit. However, you didn't have to drive everyone else away."

"Get out of here," Chanyeol sternly demanded.

When Shadow laughed, the ballroom echoed the sound through the speakers. "But I just got here and you already evacuated everyone."

"Shadow--"

"Well, not everyone," Shadow said slyly, causing Chanyeol to pause and evaluate what the mischievous villain had up his sleeves. Before Chanyeol could question the male, Shadow hummed as he teasingly balanced on his heels back and forth.

"Where's your husband?"

The question instantly struck fear right into Chanyeol's core. In the midst of everything, he had forgotten his husband.

"You really slipped up, didn't you? Leaving him alone for that long--Actually, you know what? It was really easy kidnapping him," Shadow boasted. "You should've heard him screaming for you. He's too cute, Park Chanyeol. Especially when he--"

Lifting off from the ground, Chanyeol launched himself straight up in the villain's direction. As if expecting it, Shadow spun out of the way, laughing as Chanyeol missed, crashing into the wall down the hallway, past the balcony.

"Are you angry, hero?" the villain chided. "Are you upset that I have your husband?"

Pushing himself out of the rubbles, Chanyeol growled. All he saw was red--absolutely furious and afraid at the same time. "You better not hurt him!" he screamed. "I will end you if I find one scratch on him!"

"You could've ended me a long time ago, so you're just bluffing," Shadow shrugged. Watching Chanyeol begin to recompose himself, Shadow threw his hands up in front of him. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll let you hear him."

Instantly, there was a loud screech through the sound system and Chanyeol winced at the pain that it brought to his ears. It didn't last a full five seconds before he could hear Baekhyun's terrified voice.

"Y-Yeol?"

With his breathing cut uneven, Chanyeol frantically looked around him as if he could trace the source of his husband's voice. "Baek!?"

"Yeol, help me...Please..."

"Baek, where're you!?"

As Chanyeol broke down in a mental panic, Shadow leaned his back against the balcony, facing the hero who was sure to kill him just to find where his husband was being kept. Unbeknownst to the giant, Shadow was quietly imitating sobs under his helmet.

"I-I don't know... it's dark in here, Yeol...I'm scared. I'm--"

Then the connection cut and that was all it took for Chanyeol to fully snap.

More than afraid for his husband, Chanyeol opened his palm and created a fire ball, ing it quickly and aiming at Shadow's cocky figure. "Where the hell did you put him!?"

Letting the fire ball hit him, Shadow chuckled as minimal heat passed through his suit, only warming him. "Now where's the fun in telling you?"

"I'm not going to play this type of ing game with you!"

"Then that's too bad! Because we're playing until I'm satisfied with y--"

It came as a surprise and it was something that Shadow never expected Park Chanyeol to ever have the guts to do.

Picking up a large heavy piece of what was once a wall, Chanyeol hurled the heavy object in Shadow's way. Impacted hard on the chest, the villain fell backwards over the balcony railing, hitting the hard ballroom floor loudly.

Within seconds, he didn't even have time to recover from the fall. Chanyeol had jumped off after him and landed right on top of the male. Before Shadow could maneuver out from under, Chanyeol grabbed him by the front of his stretchable suit and pulled him back up momentarily only to smash him back down on the floor.

"Where is he?" Chanyeol growled dangerously, trying to control himself from killing the villain right then and there.

Struggling to breath from Chanyeol's grip, Shadow knew he needed something to distract that male only for a second. In a broken voice, Shadow whispered a command in his headpiece to his right-hand man and soon after an explosion was heard from far away, breaking Chanyeol's attention just enough for Shadow to make a move.

Using all of his strength, Shadow pushed Chanyeol on the chest just enough to roll off to the side and quickly crawl to his knees. When the hero tried to make a grab for him, Shadow made the decision to kick his leg up, hitting the giant right on the chest and causing him to stumble back behind.

"I'm sorry for cutting this show short," the villain breathlessly laughed as he limped himself back on his feet, "but I should leave you be. You do have a husband to search for."

When Shadow tried to make an escape by making a sprint for the nearest hallway in the grand ballroom, Chanyeol wouldn't have it. However, the anti-hero knew that the giant wouldn't let go so easily.

Reaching into the pockets hidden by his cloak, Shadow pulled out a grenade, triggered it, and ed it in Chanyeol's direction.

Acting quickly, Chanyeol deflected the hand grenade by ing it upwards towards the glass ceiling. Shadow didn't know why, but he stopped running as his eyes followed the object and watched its detonation.

When the bomb exploded, it burst just before it hit the physical glass ceiling itself. However, Baekhyun's eyes caught the sight of another bomb that he had forgotten Jongin planted on his order. Although the grenade's shockwaves weren't powerful enough to destroy the anything, it did damage crucial parts of the ceiling bomb's mechanical configuration due to the explosive and dangerous level of vibration.

Within seconds, Shadow knew that the ceiling would fall.

The moment that Chanyeol sensed Shadow's body language tense and freeze after the explosion, he paused as well, unsure of what was happening. Then, before he knew it, a second explosion happened and the villain was screaming and running towards him.

The first thought that came to mind was that the male was making an offensive attack. But the minute that Chanyeol felt himself shouldered out of the way and away from where he was standing, he knew it was something else.

Then he heard a sharp yelp before Shadow's connection to the main sound system was slashed off.

Slowly rising from the ground, careful not to put pressure on any sharp foreign objects as he pushed himself up, Chanyeol staggered to stand, trying to piece together what had happened. When he figured it out, it was too late to do anything about the groaning male that had taken the hit of one of the steel arches that held the glass ceiling together.

A second after Chanyeol decided to move towards the injured male, another figure in black appeared running into the torn ballroom and swiftly detonating a flash bomb along with a can unleashing smoke from both sides.

The flash bomb rendered Chanyeol disoriented, temporarily ruining his vision and hindering him from stopping the figure from moving through the smoke, ultimately taking the injured anti-hero away. Chanyeol hated that fact that he recovered too slowly for his liking.

When nothing appeared like a disoriented blur any longer, Chanyeol held onto his senses and scouted the area full of rubble and mess. His eyes shot to the place where he had last seen Shadow whimpering in what sounded like pain, but the only remnants of the villain that he saw were drops of blood and one streak of the red fluid marking the marble floor.

-

-

Jongin kicked the bedroom door open, uncaring for how hard the barrier hit the wall behind it. Hurriedly, he carried Baekhyun over to the bed and gently placed him on the mattress before quickly unlatching the helmet. After he pulled it off the elder's head, he tossed it to the floor, letting it clank as impacted.

Once the mask was off, Jongin could see that Baekhyun was biting his lips to try and keep his mind away from the wound on his right side caused by the sheer sharpness of the steel frame. Cursing under his breath, Jongin continued as he unclicked the latch that held the male's cloak in the middle. Once he rid of the material, he turned Baekhyun on his left side and began to pull the zipper in the back down.

When the male hissed in pain, Jongin winced for him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered in sincerity knowing Baekhyun was in excruciating pain. Once the back was undone, Jongin made a decision that he knew would bring the male more hurt. "Baek, sit up. Come on, here."

Nodding, Baekhyun wrapped his arms around Jongin's neck, using his body to sit up. He almost cried out from the sharp pain that came afterwards, but he knew he needed to get out of his suit. Drawing his eyes down, he could feel his stomach twist at the sight of seeing his own flesh cut into.

Jongin hurried and pulled the upper part of the suit down to Baekhyun's waist, just enough to detach the suit from the actual wound itself.

"The cabinet underneath the sink?"

Knowing that Jongin was asking for the first aid kit, Baekhyun nodded as he tried to even his breathing. When the male came back with the box and a few towels, the first thing he did was pull out the disinfecting alcohol. Flipping the cap open, he warned Baekhyun first before dousing the wound completely, stinging Baekhyun's right side.

"!" Baekhyun yelled the moment the first wave of the liquid hit him. Gritting his teeth, he shut his eyes and tried to contain himself. "It's burns."

"That's good," Jongin muttered as he doused it a little bit more before setting the bottle down and reaching for a hand towel. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

"You think?" Baekhyun dryly laughed.

Wiping the blood around the wound, Jongin nodded. "What exactly happened?"

"He threw a wall at me," the elder replied, holding his breath with every dab of the towel. "I fell off the balcony and he just--argh, this really hurts, Jongin."

"It'll be over soon," Jongin shushed. Replacing the towel with a cotton ball, he soaked it with alcohol and started to clean around the wound some more. "The fact that he went crazy over you, though..."

"It was nice to see him that way," Baekhyun admitted, curling his fingers. "I just wish he didn't push me off the second story."

Finding it in him to laugh, Jongin shook his head at the foolishness. "You were asking for it."

Baekhyun smiled. He stayed silent, bearing the pain for a few minutes before asking, "When are you going to take that mask off?"

Realizing that he was still fully suited, Jongin paused for a moment before continuing on. "It's okay. You need my attention first." After a while, he asked, "When do you think Chanyeol's coming home?"

"Not until he finds me," Baekhyun replied.

"He still thinks you're at the venue," Jongin pointed out.

"I'll just text him to tell him I'm alright." After thinking about where he put his cellphone, Baekhyun remembered just as Jongin was pulling out the gauze. "My cellphone's in the back pocket of my suit."

Quirking his lips, Jongin nodded. As Baekhyun tried successfully to pull out the device from behind, Jongin could see that the male was trying to maintain the pain level in his body at the moment. Minding his business for a second, he carefully wrapped Baekhyun's abdomen with the gauze.

"He called me a bunch of times..."

Glancing up momentarily, Jongin smirked. "What a worried husband."

"He called just a few minutes ago."

"He must not have realized that this is all just a wild goose chase for him."

There was a silence on Baekhyun's part for a few ominous seconds before Jongin looked up once again to see Baekhyun's worried face. "What? What is it?" When Baekhyun didn't answer, Jongin prodded. "Baekhyun--"

"I forgot."

Jongin blinked. "Forgot what?"

"I forgot to turn off my GPS locator..."

Freezing in place, Jongin looked at him and understood what made Baekhyun feel as though he had made a grave mistake. "Baek, he could use that to find out where you ar--"

"Baek?"

The deep baritone voice that came from the door way stopped the two. Baekhyun's jaw dropped as he tried to find the words appropriate to say. But when he tried to stand up, he immediately winced and dropped back down on the bed.

The sight of blood seeping through the two layers of gauze that had already been applied set Chanyeol off at the black figure standing in front of his husband. In that moment, he didn't think. All he knew was that Baekhyun was hurt and an unknown man was in the room.

Without any thought, Chanyeol charged for Jongin, catching his body and driving both of them against the wall. In a daze, Jongin was unaware of anything before he felt Chanyeol lay a fist on his face. Instinctively, the male threw his arms and hands in front of him, trying to block out the attacks.

Despite being seriously injured, Baekhyun couldn't just stand by and watch as his husband wrongly pummeled his friend. A rush of adrenaline ran through his body and in a split second, Baekhyun was off the bed and on his husband's back, hitting and pounding on him with his own fists.

"Stop it!" Baekhyun cried, hitting Chanyeol by the arm and crazily slapping at his head. "Get off of him!"

"Stay out of this, Park Baekhyun!" Chanyeol commanded, momentarily turning around just to push Baekhyun away from Jongin and him.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do, you oaf!" Baekhyun growled, immediately returning and jumping on the giant's back.

Before Chanyeol had the chance to do anything about the husband who had taken the mystery man's side, he felt himself falling backwards.

Finding that Chanyeol was distracted, Jongin took the opportunity to kick the giant away from him. Hitting him square in the chest, Jongin felt some sort of satisfaction from his efforts. But within a second, he knew that he had made a mistake.

Chanyeol fell backwards with Baekhyun still clinging on his back.

Baekhyun's scream was heard throughout the apartment. His head just hit the edge of the foot of the bed, but it was enough to render him unconscious before he could feel himself temporarily crushed between his husband and their bedroom floor.

Knocked out cold, Baekhyun never felt Chanyeol immediately roll off of him and yelling at him to wake up, nor did he hear the thud Jongin's helmet made when the sidekick hit the hero on the head, screaming at Chanyeol to get his together.

-

-

The moment Baekhyun felt himself awakening, he could still feel the pain on his right side, but felt that the applied pressure on it helped subside the pain. He moved his fingers ever so slightly, but was not expecting a hand to immediately grab him and grip them into a tight squeeze.

"Baek?"

Baekhyun heard the small, tight voice calling his name even before he could open his eyes fully. Resting his eyes for a few more minutes, Baekhyun tried to quickly recap in his foggy mind what had happened. Bits and pieces slowly began to resurface before eventually putting the entire picture together. He bit his tongue before he gathered the strength and courage to gradually open his eyes.

"Yeol?"

Although the smaller male's voice cracked in the process, Chanyeol could feel his soul rejoice at the fact that Baekhyun had regained consciousness. "You're awake," he said, letting the words slip past his lips, "thank god you're awake."

When Baekhyun tried to fix his position on the bed, Chanyeol shook his head and put a hand on his chest, keeping him down. "No. Stay still or else you'll reopen the wound."

"Reopen?" Baekhyun asked, confused.

Chanyeol nodded. "I had a doctor come in and fix you up. Jongin's not a doctor, Baek. You needed professional help with that gash. I told him that you got hurt in all the chaos at the ball so it's alright."

Taking his husband's word for it, Baekhyun nodded. "Okay..." Then something clicked in his mind. "You said Jongin."

Chanyeol looked perplexed, but he nodded, confirming the thought. "Yes-- the guy who was in our bedroom when I walked in. And he was the same guy who took Shadow when he was injured. He left already, though."

Baekhyun's shoulders tensed. "He was just...He was..."

"You're Shadow, aren't you?"

Words were caught up in his throat and Baekhyun didn't know what to do. There was no possible lie that made sense in his mind. Not even the most logical excuse could sway his husband's statement. Baekhyun knew that it was over.

Reluctantly nodding, he confessed. "I am..."

"You were never kidnapped..."

Shaking his head weakly, the male sighed, slanting his shoulders. "No..."

Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol grip his hand tighter. "Then why did you let me think that you were? I didn't know you were that cruel, Baek."

"I'm not," Baekhyun responded softly. "I was doing it for you."

Locking his jaws, Chanyeol gave Baekhyun a hurt look. "I was scared to death, Baek! I thought that Shadow had you! I can bear getting hurt over crime, Baek, but losing you would've destroyed me."

"I was going to tell you I was fine in an hour or two," Baekhyun told him as if it would make everything slightly better. Pushing himself against the mattress even more, Baekhyun closed his eyes for a second before reopening them. "I just needed you to wear yourself out."

A moment of silence happened before Chanyeol asked, "This is about my recklessness, isn't it?"

"Hasn't it always been?" Baekhyun said, laughing for an instant before he felt a small sharp pain run through him.

Chanyeol grew angry with himself despite the fact that he should've been angry at his husband for wreaking havoc in the city. "God damn it! This is my entire fault then!"

"No, it's--"

"No, Baek!" Chanyeol cut in. "It's my fault that you felt like you needed to entertain me by dressing up and acting like a villain-- not to mention that it's my fault you're injured!"

"Hey!" Baekhyun said, raising his voice. "This was all my decision so quit taking the credit for everything. I put myself in this suit and I was the one who took the hit with that frame, so you can just stop it, Park Chanyeol."

"Baek--"

"Can't you just applaud me?" Baekhyun said, putting a small smile on his face. "I was a pretty good villain wasn't I? Now that you know, you should praise me, you giant."

Chanyeol paused, narrowing his eyes at the tired looking male. "Praising you is beside the issue, Baek. There are other matters on my mind right now and I--"

"Just praise me, Chanyeol," Baekhyun slightly scoffed. "I deserve it."

"I can't," Chanyeol mumbled, rolling his eyes before meeting Baekhyun's.

"Why not?"

"You're the worst super villain I've ever encountered."

Baekhyun smile dropped and was replaced by a sarcastic look. "Excuse me?"

"Water dissolvable grenades? Fire that doesn't really do any harm? Malfunction robotic women?"

"Well, did you want me to hurt people?" Baekhyun inquired.

"No, but--"

"My schemes are orchestrated in the best way to have fun, Yeol," Baekhyun explained as Chanyeol listened on. "It's not just pointless attacks. It's to keep you active trying to solve the puzzles."

Shaking his head, Chanyeol chuckled despite knowing how much of a serious issue the topic was. "Baek, don't do this again, please," he said with solemn eyes. "I don't want you getting hurt again. I mean, look at you now. You got hurt because of me."

"By accident--"

"I don't care. More accidents could happen," Chanyeol strongly asserted, making sure Baekhyun knew that he was practically pleading. "I don't want you endangering yourself and other people ever again, do you hear me?"

"Chanyeol," Baekhyun said sternly.

"Baekhyun," Chanyeol said, defeating Baekhyun in authority. "Listen to me."

Baekhyun pouted. "But playing the anti-hero was fun."

"We can play other games--preferably in bed where I'd rather have these fights with you," Chanyeol sighed, reaching over and caressing Baekhyun's cheek with his free hand. "Just stop doing this for my sake."

"Then I'm going to have to find other ways to satisfy your restlessness."

"That's fine!" Chanyeol exclaimed. "Having with you drains me just as much as fighting crime, you know."

With his face flushed, Baekhyun pursed his lips. "You're stupid..."

Chanyeol smiled, standing up from his seat and leaning down, placing a kiss on Baekhyun's lips. "I'm just suggesting a different form of activity," he whispered before pulling back. "But for now, you're still hurt. We'll discuss this on a later date. You need rest."

Baekhyun nodded, slowly untangling his fingers from Chanyeol's. "I was doing it for you, Chanyeol, but nothing was ever your fault, alright?"

Chanyeol bit his lips and Baekhyun knew that the giant was still having trouble coming to terms on whose fault his injury really was. "Okay. Now go back to sleep. I'll make dinner and come back when it's done."

"Sounds good."

Just as Chanyeol was heading to the door, a question that was prodding at Baekhyun's mind found its way out of his mouth. "Yeol, how did you find me?"

"I followed my heart."

Baekhyun laughed at the response. "Seriously, though. Was it because of--"

"Your GPS wasn't turned off," Chanyeol simply explained as he reached the door. "You forgot to turn it off, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Like I said, worst villain I've ever encountered."

-

-

Over the few days that ensued, Baekhyun requested time off of work for his injury. Under the impression that Baekhyun was a victim of Shadow, he allowed time for Baekhyun to heal.

Once he was well enough to walk, Baekhyun walked in on his office being sparkly clean. The only thing that stood out were the boxes in which he kept all his suits and spare devices. Chanyeol was on the floor going over everything when he walked in. They shared eye contact for a second before Chanyeol gave him a look and Baekhyun rolled his eyes and walked out.

Chanyeol had apologized multiple times for throwing a piece of wall at him, but the giant, however, was still upset at the fact that Baekhyun tore his heart open by pretending to be kidnapped when he really wasn't.

Baekhyun's secrets spilled out as he knew that Shadow was no longer going to make an anti-hero comeback. He explained how the liquid that he doused the fire victims in acted more like a protective layer between the fire and them. The robotic women weren't prototypes either. They were simply built to malfunction with water on purpose.

As it turned out, Baekhyun had other plans for the glass ceiling bomb, but the fact that Chanyeol reflected the grenade's detonation right next to it threw everything off course. When Baekhyun found himself injured, he told his husband that in that moment, he knew he had to pull the plug.

Chanyeol learned that Baekhyun planned on telling him he was alright once Jongin fixed him back up. The male's excuse would've been, "Shadow manipulated my voice to say those things". If Chanyeol didn't know, he would've found that lie believable.

Once, Chanyeol asked, "What would you have done if I said I wanted ? I mean, you'd have a cut on your body. I would have noticed."

To this, Baekhyun simply shrugged. "I would've told you that I didn't want to have . Simple as that."

-

-

No crime was to ever go unpunished.

When Jongin went home with a black eye that night, he faced Kyungsoo's worried fury and received an entire week of the cold treatment, which was enough for the male to call it "torture".

Baekhyun, on the other hand, had it less kindly.

Chanyeol forced his husband to do a hundred hours of community service for damaging city property. And although Baekhyun tried to argue that every time he destroyed something, he helped the city fundraise for its repairs, Chanyeol couldn't have any of it. In the end, Baekhyun was practically a city worker, picking up trash and running errands for the city.

It was only logical to think that community service was his only punishment.

But one morning, Baekhyun woke up groggily to the sight of his husband standing over his side of the bed. Smiling, Baekhyun stretched his arms up. "Good morning," he yawned.

"Good morning, Baek," Chanyeol said with a grin on his face. "Did you have a nice sleep?"

Nodding, Baekhyun hummed. "Yes, thanks for asking."

"Good."

Then Baekhyun heard a click and felt metal around one of his stretched hands. When it occurred to him that Chanyeol had handcuffed him, he stopped smiling. "What're you doing?"

Holding the other cuff in his hand, Chanyeol held his ground as Baekhyun tried to pull away. "You did commit crimes, Baek."

"But I already did my service--"

"I know you did, but I don't think it's all that fair," Chanyeol said, setting a knee on the bed. "Criminals shouldn't be allowed to get away as easily as you, right?"

"So you're turning me in?" Baekhyun asked, confused as to what Chanyeol was doing. He thought that the giant said he would keep law enforcements out of their business, but suddenly, he was afraid that his husband might go back on his word.

Initially, that's what he thought--that Chanyeol was going to hand him over to the authorities. But then something happened.

"I'm going to turn you inside out if that's what you mean," Chanyeol smirked, proud of himself for his play on words.

Catching onto the giant's drift, Baekhyun raised his brows and smiled along with him as Chanyeol settled in between his legs after clicking the other hand cuff on the bed post.

"Oh," Baekhyun said teasingly. "Then do whatever you see fit, hero."

As he ran his hands up Baekhyun's shirt, Chanyeol trailed kisses from his neck until he reached his husband's lips and brushed against them with his. Taking the challenge, Chanyeol smirked, meeting Baekhyun's eyes before he quickly pecked his mouth.

"You bet I will, my little villain."

 

The End