whumpering-heights:

Villain’s Rescue Interlude: Sidekick’s nightmare

[A/N: I know you’re all waiting for the reunion, and trust me I am too! I’ve been busy, though, and I had this Hero chapter already mostly written.

This is directly inspired by @whumpy-arts-and-crafts ’s lovely fanart.]

Tagging:@whumpsday@pumpkin-spice-whump-latte@octopus-reactivated@fanastyfinder@whumpy-arts-and-crafts@arsonfrogger@burtlederp@harri-00

MASTERLIST

CWs:implied child abuse, parental death, manipulation

Hero sighed as he finally came home. Christ, those attacks had been a hassle to deal with. And afterwards he wasn’t even able to go home straight away, of course. No, first he’d had those damn press conferences to assure the public that Villain couldn’t possibly be on the loose again. It was just a copycat, nothing more.

He kicked off his boots and, with heavy legs, dragged himself up the stairs. He’ll go check on Villain tomorrow morning, maybe release some of his frustration on him. Right now, he just wanted to go to bed. The serum that had given him super strength was quickly leaving his system, and taking all his energy with it. He’d need to get horizontal soon if he didn’t want to collapse in the hallway.

As he stumbled past Sidekick’s room, holding the wall to keep upright, he heard something that made him pauze. He didn’t even register what it was he’d heard, his feet just stopped in their tracks. But then he heard it again. Was Sidekick crying? It was the middle of the night, what was he still doing up?

Hero opened the bedroom door. Blinking though his swimming vision, Hero saw the kid curled up on his bed, his bandaged arm pressed tight to him. His red hair covered part of his tight-knit brows. Though his eyes were closed in sleep, he was whimpering and flinching mutedly.

With every second, Hero felt himself inching closer to a crash. Yet, he still shuffled inside and sat down on the bed. He brushed some of Sidekick’s short hair from his forehead.

“Hey, kiddo,” he murmured. “It’s all a dream, it’s alright.”

At the touch, he merely flinched and didn’t wake up. Something in Hero’s heart twinged at the sight. The kid started muttering something. He couldn’t make out the words, but through the sleepy monotone, he could tell it was an apology of sorts. He took Sidekick’s shoulder and shook gently.

“Sidekick. Wake up, bud.”

With a gasp and a start, Sidekick shot upright. He blinked, and gazed at Hero with wide glassy eyes.

“Hero! No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, don’t-!” he stammered, clearly still with one foot in the dream.

Hero sighed, and scooted a bit closer. He put his arm around his charge, pulling him closer.

“C’mere. It was just a nightmare, you’re okay.” His own speech was growing a bit slurred from his exhaustion.

Though Sidekick struggled a bit with sleep-heavy limbs, he was soon leaning against Hero’s chest. For a second, he stayed frozen, before Hero’s comforting rubs on his back made him relax a touch.

Hero smiled. It had been a while since he helped Sidekick through a nightmare like this. When he’d been just a scrawny 12 year old, he’d often woken him up with screaming in the middle of the night. The dreams were about fire, about his parents, about Villain. Hero never punished him for waking him up. No, instead, he’d hold the preteen in his arms until he fell back asleep. It wasn’t any trouble for him, and the kid was always so sweet afterwards. And now, even though he was nearly grown and Hero was so very tired, he’d do the same. Maybe the tiredness was making him nostalgic.

He could tell Sidekick was still tense against him. His heart beat so fast and hard, Hero could feel it through his back. He moved his hand up to ruffle his hair.

“It was just a bad dream, kid. D’you wanna talk about it?”

Some of his lower city accent was slipping out. When was the last time he’d even used the serum? For all the training he’d put Sidekick through, he himself had been slacking.

Sidekick’s stammered words still spilled out.

“No, I-I was falling, and he was there, and you were too, and I was going to hit the ground and die. I was going to fall, and I tried to tell you sorry, but-” he stopped himself, shuddering a bit at the memory. Hero sushed him.

“It’s okay, bud. You’re fine.”

The kid turned quiet, and they just sat in the dark room a while. Hero had to confess, this was nice. He should hug him more often.

“I’ve been hard on you lately, haven’t I?” he mused.

He felt Sidekick hold his breath, and he sushed him again.

“You don’t have to answer, it’s alright. I guess we both could have done things differently, huh? It’s been a tough year. But we’re still buddies, ain’t we?”

Sidekick nodded against his chest. He smiled, fondly. God, the exhaustion really was making him sappy. His eyes were fluttering closed, when Sidekick’s soft voice pulled him awake again.

“Did.. Did you check on Villain yet?”

Hero hummed and shook his head. “Nah, ‘ll do it in the morning. D’ya-” He had to interrupt his sentence with a yawn. “Christ, I need to get used to the serum again… bet I’ll have a headache tomorrow. Anyway, you want warm milk or something?”

Why wasn’t Sidekick relaxing? He was still so tense, even though the nightmare must have faded by now. Had he really been so hard on him, that he couldn’t be at ease again? Well, Hero supposed he could be kinder and gentler. If only the kid wouldn’t make him lose his temper again, that should be doable.

“No, I think we should both sleep, Hero,” his ward said quietly. He chuckled.

“A’ight, that’s fair. I can hear my bed calling me down the hallway.”

He broke the embrace and helped Sidekick get settled back in bed. The kid seemed nervous, still. He wouldn’t look him in the eyes.

Did Hero mess up? He wanted the kid to like him. It would be a shame if he spend all this time and effort in raising him, only to break his trust in an attempt to control him better. It was Villain’s fault for wurming his way into his head.

He tucked Sidekick in and, in a bout of tired nostalgic fondness, pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“Y’re a good kid, Sidekick,” he said softly. Did he see that correctly, and did the kid’s turn eyes wetter than usual?

“Y-yeah,” his voice tremored a bit. “I’ll see you.. tomorrow, Hero. In the morning.” There was a shiver running through his body, and the tears in his eyes became bigger.

“Please, remember that I do love- I-I like when you’re nice to me.”

Hero smiled. Not his practiced toothpaste-commerical grin, nor his meanspirited smirk. Instead, it was a bit crooked and made him look softer, somehow.

“I’ll keep it in mind, sonny. Sleep well.”