Heroic Acts

Fifteen

"Who are you?" Darien asked.

"You may call me Z. I give the Phantom his orders. I'm like a boss, if you will. For villains," Z said.

"Why are you having him do this?" Darien asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Do you know the incredible beauty of having power over everyone? Do you know how good it feels.." Z said menacingly, approaching Darien with a blade, "..to have everyone be afraid of you?"

Darien suddenly realized just how dangerous the situation was. He was standing two inches away from Z, with a blade held up to his throat. He watched the Phantom get up in the corner of his eye.

"I could kill you, right now, and no one would come to help you. Why? Because I could kill them too. So could my villain, here. We are dangerous, you hear? In fact, I should kill you, but I won't, not yet," Z said. Darien didn't ask why, knowing he will get an explanation.

"You're probably an average guy who happens to be trying to find a life in this overly popular city, am I right? The only thing that isn't average about you is your powers and therefore you think you're special. Well, you're not. You've barely made a dent in my villain, you've only knocked the wind out of him a few times. Does that really make you a hero?"

Two brown eyes stared at Darien through the black mask. He didn't dare move a muscle. The cold blade continued to ever so slightly graze the skin on his throat. He was beginning to become truly afraid, clenching his fists and feeling the heat in his palms but knowing too well that trying to use his powers would only have him killed.

"I don't know who you are," Z continued. "You don't know who I am, either. Isn't that right? I'm feeling generous today. I will let you go, I will take my blade away from your throat, and you will leave. You will never confront me or the Phantom again. You will let the chaos continue, you will let us do our business, and you will mind your own. If you have any objections, I can kill you instead."

Darien reluctantly nodded his head. He thought of Andy, and he wanted to get home to him safely. Z slowly lowered his blade and took a step away from the Blue Warrior. He nodded as a gesture for him to go, and that's exactly what he did.

***

Darien sat in his dorm, feeling nothing but defeat. He sighed and made his way down to the showers. He was much dirtier after this fight, but he came out with fewer injuries. He watched the dirt and little bits of blood go down the drain. Scrubbing his thoughts away, he spent almost ten more minutes in the shower than he needed to. He eventually found himself back in his dorm, getting dressed. Clean and sad, he called Andy to come see him.

"Darien, what the hell did you do to yourself?" Andy said, looking down at the cuts and scrapes on his shirtless boyfriend as he stepped inside the dorm room.

"When they say you shouldn't go out into the chaotic storm, they mean it," Darien said. "There's debris everywhere."

"You're a dumbass," Andy said jokingly. "Are you okay, at least?"

"I'm fine! Don't worry," Darien reassured him.

"Good," Andy said and pulled Darien into a hug, and he then leaned down to kiss his lips.

"Are you hungry?" Darien asked, smiling. "I have mac and cheese that I can heat up."

The boys ended up sharing a leftover box of restaurant mac and cheese, which still wasn't hot enough despite using the microwave so long, but they eventually just gave up and decided it was fine. Eventually, Darien was laying with his head on Andy's chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Why are you so cute?" Andy asked him.

"I'm not, shut up, and thank you," Darien replied. Andy just rolled his eyes, smiling.

"Give me a kiss," Andy commanded playfully. Darien grinned and climbed up on top of his boyfriend, leaning down to kiss him. It was warm and sweet, yet passionate and strong. He felt Andy's tongue slip between his lips and he blushed, but he returned the favor. Andy simply made him so happy, and it felt so nice to finally be wanted.

***

Seth made his way over to the dorm, already clean and dry with groceries in hand. He promised Darien that he'd pick up his favorite foods when he went shopping. He was excited to make him happy with his gesture.

When he got to the door, the noises coming from the other side was a huge indicator that he should not under any circumstances make his way inside. Considering he didn't have any groceries that needed to be refrigerated, he left the bags outside the door and walked down to one of the student lounges. He was so incredibly pissed that he was calm. He couldn't describe it.

Maybe if you weren't such a bad guy, Andy would be the one outside the door, Seth thought. He sighed. He knew it was time to forget about Darien, but could he really? He was his roommate, one of his closest friends. How could he simply forget him?

On the other side of the door, Darien was filled with embarrassment when he and Andy found the groceries outside in the hallway. He suddenly felt really filthy and was worried about what Seth thought of him, but Andy found it funny that Darien worried so much.

"You worry way too much, Babe," he said and rubbed Darien's back. "It's okay, I promise."

"He must've heard everything, I can't help but feel ashamed," Darien said sadly.

"Don't feel ashamed, it's okay. If it makes you feel better, we can start hanging out in my room more often, if you'd like," Andy offered.

"That's not the problem, I'm just worried that he's upset with me," Darien said.

"He won't be, I promise. He couldn't be upset with you because of that," Andy reassured him.

"I hope you're right," Darien said sadly and gave him a hug. He was incredibly embarrassed. Andy returned the hug, pulling him closer to his chest. Darien suddenly felt safe.