Being the strategic mastermind that she was, Nayeon had planned ahead and brought blankets for their stakeout. Ordinarily, snuggling together on top of a roof would lead to falling asleep while stargazing, but not tonight.

Tonight, they had a mission.

“So Tzuyu is taking the night off superheroing to go have fun with Chaeyoung and Dahyun. According to my source they’re headed to their usual club which means they should walk down this road in about five minutes.”

“That’s when we make our move?”

“Exactly.” Nayeon nodded. “You cause a distraction to separate them and I’ll grab Dahyun. Be as loud and destructive as you want.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.” Sana faked a tearful sniff. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m not the five-time winner of Japan’s clumsiest superhero for nothing.”

“Five times?” Nayeon laughed. “Then you shouldn’t have any problems creating a mild ruckus.”

“A mild ruckus.” Sana giggled. “I like that.”

“What? My vocabulary?”

“You say phrases that my grandma would use, but the way you say it is funny.”

“Alright, now I know for sure you’re just flattering me.” Nayeon gave her a mock glare. “No one has ever called me funny and genuinely meant it.”

“Well then I guess I’m your first.”

Sana gave a delighted laugh as Nayeon turned away, the cool wind doing little to hide her blush. Hopefully, Sana would assume she was embarrassed by the innuendo, and not by the fact that Sana appreciated her sense of humour.

Nayeon now had one person who found her funny, which was one person more than Jeongyeon had. That thought alone was enough to put a smile on her face.

“By the way, I never asked you what you thought of my friends.” Nayeon tried to keep her voice casual. “I know they like you, so I just want to check if you’re up for visiting them again sometime in the future.”

Judging by Sana’s smirk, she had a feeling that her attempt at casualness had failed.

“You’re protective of your friends, aren’t you?”

“Caught me.” Nayeon smiled. “Although I think the six-year grudge over a summer camp incident should have been warning enough that I can get a little overprotective.”

“Well I think you’re hot when you get serious. If I ever went after your friends you’d take me down instantly, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t even hesitate.”

“Like I said.” Sana’s smirk grew wider. “Hot.”

Nayeon’s thoughts were starting to veer towards the inappropriate, which would be great if they weren’t on a mission. She gave her head a little shake to clear it of unhelpful memories, and when she looked back at Sana she was only slightly thinking about what they’d gotten up to earlier in her secret base.

In Nayeon’s defence, the marks that were still visible on Sana’s neck made it very hard for her to completely push those memories away.

“Seriously though, you don’t have a problem with them, do you?”

“Not at all.” Sana replied cheerfully. “Jeongyeon is really nice and I love how easily I can make her flustered. As for Jihyo…”

She paused for three terrifying seconds, and Nayeon tried to pretend that she’d be fine dating someone who didn’t like Jihyo. Emphasis on tried, because there was no way she could ever be happy with someone who didn’t appreciate how wonderful her friend was.

“…I won’t lie I think I’m a little bit in love with her.”

Once again, Sana proved that Nayeon’s anxiety was an overdramatic liar. Sana soothed her worries so naturally and unknowingly, that each time Nayeon was left feeling pleasantly surprised. At this rate, Nayeon might actually work up the courage to ask Sana to be her official girlfriend.

“An understandable reaction to being in Jihyo’s presence.” Nayeon smiled. “I’m fairly sure everyone who knows her is at least ten percent in love with her, myself included.”

“Good to know you’re not the jealous type.”

Noise from below distracted Nayeon from replying. She peeked over the edge of the building, then signalled to Sana when she saw their target.

Kim Dahyun. Nineteen years old, hair dyed strawberry blonde, her dress leaning as close to conservative as possible while also being appropriate for a nightclub. Never drank too much or did drugs. Once thought she got really high from a weed brownie, but it turned out there was no weed in it and she was just really hyper that night.

That was the biggest story Nayeon knew about her. She had only kidnapped Dahyun once or twice before, which meant she had yet to bond with the kid like she had with Chaeyoung. On the bright side, this meant that Dahyun actually found her a little intimidating.

Well, maybe not intimidating, but she didn’t roll her eyes every time Nayeon spoke, which was more than she could say for Chaeyoung and Tzuyu. Kids these days just didn’t know how to respect their elders.

She watched as the trio drew closer. Dahyun said something that caused Chaeyoung to start whining loudly, and Tzuyu laughed so hard she lost her balance and had to grab her girlfriend’s arm for support.

“Wow.” Sana whispered. “I didn’t think Tzuyu could look so happy. She always seems so stressed and serious.”

“I know.” Nayeon wrinkled her nose. “It’s disgusting, isn’t it? Makes me want to commit a crime right now just to get her natural murderous glare back.”

“Why are Tzuyu’s friends so small? Do they instinctively flock to her so she can provide shelter when the weather gets bad?”

“Maybe.” Nayeon whispered back. “Personally, I think Tzuyu only gets close to people under a certain height deliberately. It’s some sort of weird power dynamic, being the only tall one in a group.”

“You might be on to something. Remember when she told us she’s scared of Chaeyoung growing taller than her?”

“Exactly. Let’s talk conspiracy later though, it’s time to move.”

“Kiss for luck?”

Nayeon shuffled over to kiss Sana. Their lips were cold from the night air, but the excitement they were both feeling easily made up for it.

“You’ve got this.” Nayeon murmured.

Sana winked, and then she disappeared.

Nayeon made her way over to the fire escape, listening for the sound of Sana’s distraction as she quietly crept down the side of the building. Her hand went to her pocket, double checking that she still had the sedative she needed.

“My taste in music does not make me a hipster!” Nayeon recognised Chaeyoung’s indignant whine.

“No, but when you combine it with everything else about you, you get one massive hipster.”

“Lies and slander! Tzuyu, defend me!”

“Sorry Chaeng, but I remember our date where you showed me how you grew your own strawberries while we listened to your entire collection of vinyl records.”

“You loved that! You said my rainbow overalls were cute!”

“They were cute. They were also very hipster.”

Nayeon was actually growing invested in this debate, which was why the loud scream caught her by surprise. She jumped down the last two flights of stairs before she realised it was just Sana.

“OHYO OHYO OHYO OHYO OHYO!”

“What the heck was that?” She heard Tzuyu say.

“Was that a person?”

“I thought it was a bird.” Dahyun replied, baffled.

“No, I think it was a person pretending to be a bird.”

“Why were they yelling though?”

Sana seemed to give up on her strange noises and just flat out shrieked.

“That’s definetly a person, and it sounds like they’re in trouble!”

“Chaeyoung, wait!”

Two pairs of footsteps took off away from where Nayeon was hiding. She turned the corner and saw Dahyun still standing there, while Chaeyoung raced towards Sana’s screams and Tzuyu followed her.

All according to plan.

Dahyun went to run after her friends, but it was too late. Nayeon had already snuck up behind her, and by the time Dahyun turned around to face her Nayeon had stuck the needle in her neck.

“Nayeon?” Dahyun mumbled. “Is that you? What…”

“Don’t worry, it’s just a sedative.” She caught Dahyun’s body as the girl slumped forward. “Time to take a quick nap.”

She dragged the sleeping Dahyun into the alley she’d been hiding in, then all the way down to where she and Sana had agreed to meet up. At first Nayeon thought something had gone wrong, but then Dahyun’s legs started floating, and Sana slowly shimmered into visibility.

“Mission success!” Sana whispered triumphantly.

“Nice work with the noises. I think you genuinely freaked them out.”

“Why thank you.” Sana flipped her hair back dramatically. “Shall we get our hostage back to the hotel?”

“We shall.” Nayeon grinned.

Secure in both of their arms, Dahyun let out a little snore.

“I’ve been thinking.”

Nayeon looked up from where she was lounging on the comfy armchair. The sedative was meant to wear off around now, but Dahyun was still happily asleep on the sofa. To pass the time, Sana had switched the television on and flicked through the channels until she found a rerun of that survival show she was becoming invested in. Nayeon scrolled through her phone, occasionally glancing at the TV to see who Sana was yelling at this time.

“About how Chaeyeon didn’t deserve to get kicked out of her group? I agree.”

“Well yes, but actually I was thinking about Dahyun.”

“Oh?” Nayeon turned so she was fully facing Sana. “What about her?”

“She’s like us, isn’t she? The third wheel to her two best friends.”

“Huh.” Nayeon thought about it. “Yeah, I guess she is. Actually, I think it’s worse for her. She was the one who introduced Tzuyu to Chaeyoung, then boom, her best friend stole her new friend and she was left single.”

“That’s so sad.” Sana seemed genuinely upset for this girl who she’d yet to actually talk to. “You know what I think? I think we should recruit her.”

“Recruit Dahyun?” Nayeon glanced over at the sleeping girl. “I don’t know. She’s not much of a law breaker, and besides, she doesn’t have any superpowers.”

“She could still be a part of our team. Come on, she’s one of us! What’s the harm in asking?”

Nayeon could think of at least five reasons while she didn’t want to recruit Dahyun, but with Sana giving her sad puppy dog eyes she found her brain going blank. She was starting to think Sana had a second superpower besides invisibility, because the way Sana’s bottom lip quivered made Nayeon want to drop everything and devote her existence to making Sana smile again.

 “Ok.” she sighed. “I’ll ask her about it when she wakes up. I’m just warning you now, but she’ll probably say no.”

“Yay!” Sana lunged at her, knocking Nayeon back into her chair with a warm hug. “Third wheels unite!”

“We are not calling ourselves that.”

A noise from the sofa distracted both of them, and they scrambled up as Dahyun groaned, blinking and looking around. As soon as she saw them, she shut her eyes and let her head fall back down onto cushions.

“Hey!” Nayeon walked over, while Sana went to switch off the TV. “We didn’t kidnap you so you could sleep all night!”

“Just send Tzuyu the ransom note and let me rest.”

“We’re not sending a ransom note.”

That got Dahyun’s attention. She opened one eye and squinted suspiciously up at Nayeon.

“If you’re not sending a ransom note then why am I here?”

“You’re here…” Sana stepped forward dramatically. “Because we want you to join us.”

“Not interested.”

“What? Come on, you didn’t even hear us out.”

“Don’t need to.” Dahyun shut her eyes again. “I’m not going to turn on my friends.”

“Are they really your friends though?” Nayeon leant forward. “Are they really?”

Dahyun opened her eyes to stare flatly at Nayeon.

“Yes.”

“Ok look, here’s the deal.” Nayeon bounced down onto the sofa, jolting Dahyun up. “You’re a third wheel to Chae and Tzuyu, I’m a third wheel to Jeongyeon and Jihyo, and Sana here is a third wheel to her two best friends. Aren’t you sick of it? Don’t you think you deserve better? Join us, Dahyun. Let us show you the light.”

The gleam in her eyes was unsettling enough to make Dahyun scoot away from her. Nayeon felt so proud of herself for getting a reaction like that.

“I’m really not interested in joining your… supervillain cult or whatever.” Dahyun was up and paying attention, but she looked so confused that Nayeon wasn’t sure if it was an improvement. “And I’m not a third wheel. Yeah I’m single, but if I wanted to I could join Chaeyoung and Tzuyu at any time. We arranged this when they first started dating.”

“I’m sure that’s what they told you.” Nayeon placed a sympathetic hand on Dahyun’s shoulder. “But did they really mean it, or were they just trying to make you feel better? I’ve been down that road too, kiddo. Do you think they’d really let you have a with them, or do they just want to keep you as their friend?”

“You know what? Maybe you’re right.” Dahyun snapped. “Maybe that time Chaeyoung ate me out while Tzuyu watched was totally just a platonic friend date. Just us gals being pals right?”

There was a stunned silence in the room.

“Oh.” Nayeon said at last. “Oh wow. I genuinely have no response to that. Sana?”

Sana shook her head, looking at Dahyun with a mixture of shock and admiration.

“Right.” Nayeon said. “Well. Moving on- Wait, no. One more question. You’ve been with them, so you know who tops, don’t you?”

“I’m not selling out my friends.” Dahyun said indignantly.

“Come on.”

“No.”

“Come on. Please”

“No.

“Come on come on come on come on-”

“Fine!” Dahyun threw her hands in the air. “I won’t confirm or deny anything, but deep down, I think you know the truth.”

Nayeon looked her in the eye, saw the guilt lurking there and grinned.

“I knew it!” Nayeon cheered. “I knew it! Oh boy, I’m already thinking of ten new whipped jokes to make next time Tzuyu comes to rescue Chaeyoung.”

“Is this seriously why you kidnapped me?” Dahyun yelled. “For this? Did you really think you could convince me to betray my friends with some fake attempt at a singles club? I can see that your bed has been used plenty, so I doubt you two are as lonely as you’re insisting.”

“It’s true.” Nayeon replied calmly. “We used that bed.”

“Many, many times.” Sana added.

“And originally, this was just meant to be a simple kidnapping. But Sana saw a kindred spirit in you, not just someone who was single, but someone who was suffering the fate of the third wheel, just like us.”

“We were wrong about that.” Sana admitted.

“True. We were very, very wrong about your relationship with your friends. So as an apology, we will answer any question you ask. Just one, so choose wisely. This is your chance to get top secret information on Tzuyu’s worst enemies.”

Dahyun gulped, and Nayeon saw how her eyes strayed to their rumpled bedsheets, then to the marks on Sana’s neck. It almost made her laugh, but she couldn’t really blame Dahyun for being curious. She was probably the one who’d put that idea in the girl’s head.

“You want to know who tops?”

Dahyun said nothing, but she gave a short jerk of her head. Sana cooed at her embarrassment, and Dahyun turned completely red, burying her face in the cushions.

“It’s like you said Dahyun.” Nayeon smirked. “Deep down, I think you already know the answer.”

Dahyun didn’t reply to that, but she did peek her head out from the cushions to shoot Sana a surprised glance. Nayeon understood why. Sana was so very confident when it came to flirting, it was easy to assume she’d take charge.

“What can I say?” Sana smirked at Dahyun’s expression. “I’m versatile.”

“We could show you if you want.” Nayeon added. “Our offer still stands. Join us now, and I promise we’ll make it worth your time.”

“Yeah, my answer is still no.” Dahyun recovered enough from her embarrassment to reply. “Sorry, but even if I wanted to be in a three-way relationship I would chose my friends over their enemies.”

“Are you sure?” Sana slid closer, her eyes dancing. “Nayeon and I have a lot of fun together. It could be a learning experience for you.”

“I’m sure you and your girlfriend are… lovely, but I’m good thanks.”

“Fair enough.” Nayeon sat back with a sigh. “At least we tried. I’ll give Tzuyu a call and let her know we have you. Babe, what do you want the ransom to be? I’m kind of hungry, so maybe we can exchange Dahyun for some chicken?”

“I understand now why Chaeyoung wants to fight you so badly.” Dahyun muttered.

Nayeon didn’t reply, too busy staring worriedly at Sana. She had yet to say anything, and simply stood there, looking at Nayeon with shining eyes.

“Girlfriend!” Sana said at last. “She called me your girlfriend and you didn’t deny it!”

“Oh.” Nayeon laughed nervously. “Yeah. I guess I didn’t. Was that ok? Because if you don’t want to go steady with me I get it but if you do I mean, I’d be happy to, but no pressure alright? Didn’t mean to put you on the spot or anything it’s just-”

Sana tugged her up off the sofa, crashing their lips together. Nayeon moved instinctively, pulling her jacket off and pushing Sana over to the bed. Sana wrapped her arms around Nayeon’s neck, dragging them both down onto the mattress.

Nayeon was halfway through pulling Sana’s shirt off when she realised Dahyun had just gotten up and left.

Dahyun wasn’t sure how long she wandered the streets. She felt dazed, unsure if these past few hours had actually happened. Maybe this was all just a dream. Who would kidnap her then get so distracted making out with their girlfriend that they would let Dahyun just walk out of the hotel?

Well, considering all the rants she’d heard from Chaeyoung and Tzuyu, that did actually sound like something Nayeon would do.

“Dahyun!”

She looked up, relief flooding her as she saw Tzuyu running towards her. Her friend slammed into her and Dahyun hugged her tightly, feeling far more relaxed now that she was safe in the arms of an actual superhero.

“Chaeng and I have been looking everywhere for you! What happened? Where did you go?”

“Uh… it’s a long story. Nayeon and her new girlfriend kind of kidnapped me.”

Tzuyu’s expression went from relief to rage in under a second. Chaeyoung liked to call it the Nayeon effect.

“I’m going to kill her.” Tzuyu growled. “Her and that former superhero. I’m going to murder them both.”

“No, no you won’t.” Dahyun attempted to grab Tzuyu again, but it was hard when her friend had super strength. “You are not killing them Tzuyu!”

“You can’t stop me! You’re not Jihyo!”

They both paused at that.

“…and Jihyo’s not the boss of me!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Dahyun took a step back as Tzuyu glared at her. “Look, you want to know why you can’t kill them? Because then you’ll go to prison, and Chaeyoung will cry a lot because she won’t be able to see you whenever she wants. Do you want that Tzuyu? Do you want to make Chaeyoung cry?”

Tzuyu sighed, her anger deflating. Dahyun very deliberately did not think about what she had told Nayeon. Because really, whipped didn’t even begin to cover it.

“Fine.” Tzuyu grumbled. “I’ll let them live for now. Chaeyoung’s still running around looking for you, so we should focus on finding her. They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“Nope. They tried to get me to join them and then they got distracted by each other and it looked like they were going to start doing more than kissing so I just got up and left.”

“That’s good.” Tzuyu frowned. “I’m still telling Jihyo on them. Nayeon’s started kidnapping you guys far too regularly.”

“Maybe if you had more than two friends we wouldn’t be the targets all the time.”

“Whose side are you on, Dahyun?”

“They wanted to trade me for some chicken.” Dahyun shook her head at the memory. “Trust me, there’s no way I’m swapping sides after that.”

Tzuyu snorted at that, and Dahyun found herself laughing too. Being drugged and held hostage had not been a part of her plan for the night, but there was still time to enjoy herself.

“Come on Tzuyu. Let’s go find your girlfriend before Nayeon decides to kidnap her too.”

“Don’t even joke about that.”