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It had only been a few minutes after evening before the city of Pandora fell into chaos.
No one could have predicted that a day that started so peacefully could end with one of the Commonwealth’s leaders' heads cut off.
In a tall building, able to overlook all the others, a conference took place, one for the future of the commonwealth, and the future of Pandora as well.
Sitzkrieg stood upon the stage, hand on the podium, as he announced the plans for the commonwealth. The other leaders stood behind him, hidden resentment festering on their faces, like they all had a horrible argument. If anyone else noticed, no one said anything.
Compared to the others, Korulein stood near the edge of the stage, as if she desperately wanted to get away.
“Therefore!” Sitzkrieg continued, waving his arms dramatically before the large projection, full of data and such. “We must end this ‘hero’ nonsense before it gets out of hand!”
The projection changed to images of random heroes, all shown doing things that were…not so heroic.
“As citizens of Pandora, we have let these so-called heroes fester and rot in our society! They provide nothing of value, aside from staged displays of kindness! From here and now, on behalf of The Commonwealth, I say, down with these heroes!-”
“What irony.” The voice was neither loud nor strong, but the entire crowd’s muttering stopped; a chilling silence resounded.
Sitzcrieg could feel every nerve in his body shake; a numbing sense of fear rushed over like a wave. “Who are you!? Show yourself!”
The click of a tongue echoed. “How about you look up instead of looking down on others for once?”
Stiffly, he turned around, looked up, and froze.
Two men levitated above the projection, a threatening aura radiating off them.
They were currently being held up by gravitational power, produced by the man with dark brown hair and even darker eyes, the lower half of his face concealed by a metal gas mask. His frame was hidden by the large, flowing purple-and-gold cloak, while the silver cuffs around his wrists glowed with energy.
The man who spoke stood in front of him, and even with his face covered by a porcelain mask, smugness was evident to anyone who saw. His black-and-gold uniform was adorned with deep purple roses, making him look more like royalty than villainy.
“Oh, Sitzkrieg, merciful leader of the commonwealth.” His voice was laced with sarcasm. “You’re actually right for once.”
“What…?”
“I agree with you.” His hand suddenly fisted. “Heroes are a plague upon this society. Absolute Rubbish!” Deep anger began to seep through. “All they can do is save someone when it’s beneficial, only serving a purpose to them! Although…”
“Aren’t you and the Commonwealth the same as those lousy saviors? Tell me, Sitzkrieg, how many people died under your rule?”
At this point, Korulein knew an assassination when she saw one. Secretly, her fingers caressed her dark red ring, her body tense as it could be.
“You’re right, Sitzkrieg; heroes do deserve to die for their selfishness, but by that logic, shouldn’t all the leaders of the commonwealth die too?”
Everyone went silent.
By now, most conference attendees have evacuated, and many of the hero companies have already been called. It was only a matter of time before the many heroes arrived, but Korulein had had enough of waiting.
The ring on her finger glowed and suddenly became a ring sword, and she swung it at the man with the glowing cuffs.
The ring sword flew out of her hand towards him, and he reacted a second too late. It grazed the top of his forehead, cutting off a bit of his brown hair, and the sword flew back around like a frisbee before landing in Korulein’s hands.
“I don’t know who you are, but I don't think I’m letting you out of here alive after all that talk.”
“Ah, I forgot to introduce myself- where are my manners. I am The Architect, and this is my subordinate, The Engineer.” His gestures were full of dramatic effect.
“For such extraordinary names, you have yet to do anything aside from declare empty threats.”
Both men glared at her, but before they could move, the window shattered open, and when they looked back, three people with emblems and crests of hero companies stood, facing them.
The heroes were here.
At the center of them, a man in a large white uniform with geometric gold patterns appeared, his face covered by a tech-powered mask that could show his emotions, and right now, he looked very pissed off.
Ah, so this must have been Helios, the great hero of light.
Beside him, Heroes CallmeCass and Legacy stood, with a similar annoyance to Helios. Unlike him, they were unmasked, which was the status quo for heroes. If their lives were as exposed to their fanbase as they were, why wouldn’t their faces be as well?
So, a hero with a masked identity was intriguing.
“Legacy, go take care of the commonwealth leaders.” Helios spoke. “Cass, you’re with me.” They both nodded in unison, all three of them in sync.
“Tch.” The Architect muttered.
Helios glared at him through the mask. “Stand down.”
They eyed eachother for a solid ten seconds before the villain replied.
“Helios, great hero of the sun.” Replied the Architect. “You should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.”
“We don’t have to make this hard. If you just come with me-”
“Like hell I will! Am I some princess for you to escort away?” He scoffed. “The audacity of heroes…”
Legacy nearly fell over, sneaking to the leaders of the commonwealth at the line, but he managed to get there, and behind the curtains, he gestured to them to follow him.
Unfortunately, the engineer saw.
Sword in hand, he came rushing towards them, but was parried by Korulein. “You’re not winning that easily.” She spoke. Both blades struggled against eachother, but quickly split apart as Cass’ sword came rushing towards him.
The three continued to fight, Korulein and Cass working in sync against the engineer.
-Which left Helios and the architect to themselves.
“Too afraid to raise your sword?” The Architect Mocked.
Helios' eyes narrowed before he came rushing towards him. Had he been a second late, he definitely would have been sliced open. Luckily (for him at least), he’d predicted this and met the swift attack with one of his own, parrying with a silver spear.
“Come on, Helios!” He yelled. “Is that all you’ve got!”
“You’re too cocky for weekly villain!”
The fighting continued for what seemed like hours, but in reality had probably been a few minutes.
The architect panted in exhaustion, clearly not built for this, while Helios moved with ease. He eyed where the leaders of the commonwealth would be, Korulein and Sitzkrieg remaining. His eyes widened-
He saw a golden opportunity.
Abruptly, he slammed his spear straight into the crowd, almost shaking the room.
The engineer understood immediately-
And disappeared.
Korulein and Callmecass stood back to back. “Dammit, where did he go?!” Cass exclaimed, on high alert. Korulein suddenly stiffened. “Madam Korulein…?” When she saw what she was looking at, she nearly froze as well. Legacy had just returned to evacuate Sitzcriek, but stopped dead in his tracks.
The engineer loomed behind Sitzkrieg, who stood blank.
“Now!”
One second, his head was on his neck; the next, it lay on the floor.
The Architect and The Engineer returned from back where they originally stood, high above everyone else.
Helios looked at them with hatred in his eyes. “Why…why would you do this?!” He yelled, voice grating with anger. The architect only tilted his head before extending his arms wide like he was in a Shakespearean play.
“Because this world in inheranly flawed! We are living in an era where hatred is more valued than trust, because we place power in the hands of the selfish and fake! He started down at the heroes. “We are bringing a new world! One full of peace and calm!”
His voice grew louder, projecting in the large room.
“On this earth, we shall bring a golden era! We” Pride swelled in him. “are the conspiracy!
Since that day onwards, the conspiracy has been ruthlessly fighting against the hero companies. Since that day, Pandora has never had a moment of tranquility, and since that day, the architect and Helios became arch-enemies to one another.
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
11 months later
Fluixon sighed into his cup of coffee. He’d like to say that it was a simple black coffee, but alas, his sweet tooth ‘forced’ him to add an outrageous amount of sugar and cream.
Well, it still tasted good to him.
Pandora, during the morning, especially near the borders, was the most peaceful it could get, heavily contrasting the city life at night.
Adjusting his black turtleneck and purple sweater into place, he stopped walking until he saw the sign.
“Luminous Treats”
The bell rang out in the empty cafe, and behind the counter, swaths of teal hair seemed to perk up as the guy behind the counter stood up.
“Hey, Flux! I barely see you nowadays!”
3BelowZero used to be Fluixon’s employer, and he did work at this cafe alongside Legacy. However, due to his… new activities (cough, cough), he decided to quit tocusing on the last year of college.’ He still made time to visit 3belowzero from time to time.
“Hi, Zero.” He muttered tiredly as he sat on the chair and slumped over the counter.
“Hard week?”
“Mhm.”
The sound of brewing coffee filled the silence, aroma filling the air.
“Can I have the usual?” He spoke, adjusting his glasses.
“Don’t you already have one?” He gestured to the coffee cup in his hands.
“Like it helps.”
3belowzero laughed soundlessly at that. “Whatever you say, Flux.”
Fluixon sat up straight and looked around, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. “When was the last time Legacy came here. I remember seeing him here every day.”
“Well, you know.” He twisted the Burr Grinder. “He’s busy with the new hero business and all. I don’t blame him. Maybe, once he retired, he could work here again with me.”
Fluixon chuckled, resting his cheek on his hand. Back when he was still a teen, 3belowzero was himself a hero. Now, he’d chosen to retire for the sake of his peace and for his aspirations of owning a cafe. Over time, the hype had slowly died, and everyone had long forgotten Luminara’s greatest hero, 3belowzero. That was more or less Legacy’s title now.
Speaking of Legacy, he actually worked alongside him in the cafe. Back then, Legacy had been awkward, yet kind. Legacy’s still kind, but he grew out of his awkwardness. Even when he’d quit, he and Flux would plan on meeting at the cafe together, but now, Legacy had his hands full (Partially- no, mostly due to Fluixon.)
(If he knew, would legacy look at their memories together in hatred)
“How’s college going?”
3belowzero’s question snapped him out of his thoughts. “Oh- uh, good, I guess. It’s been well. I’m almost finished with one of my projects. Maybe after this, I can get a break.’
“That sounds great. Maybe you’ll have time to visit me more. By the way, I’ve gotten a new regular-”
“Yo, good to see you, Xero!”
The cheery voice caused Fluixon to falter.
He’d know that voice everywhere.
“Saparata, I was just talking about you!”
Ish, this wasn’t happening. This was probably just a really bad dream, his dream taking vengeance for lack of sleep. Yeah, this was just a dream-
But this felt real, too real.
Every nerve in his body told him to fight or flee when he saw that white tuft of hair sit next to him. Golden eyes met amethyst ones, and a flash of confusion was followed by anger. As fast as it had come, it disappeared as Saparata talked to 3belowzero.
“Dude, you will not believe what happened last week! So on Friday-”
As Saparata kept talking, Fluixon could feel frustration pool in his gut, threatening to topple over any second.
“-Your Usual, saps?”
“You know it!”
Fluixon’s hands fidgeted with the blade he’d hidden in his pocket. Maybe if he was quick enough, once the saps left, he’d follow close by and gut him where no one could know-
“Saps, have you met Fluixon? He used to work here, but he wanted to focus on his last year of college. He’s such a hard worker.”
Those golden eyes burned into his own, yet Fluixon didn’t back down. They both discreetly glared at eachother.
“College? Makes sense, people rarely have enough time then.”
Their smiles were so obviously fake.
“Nice to meet you, Fluixon. I’m Saparata.” He extended his bandaged hand. (to the guy that made it bandaged it in the first place.)
“Likewise.” He shook the hand that he had just injured last week.
3belowzero shook out of typical action at the sight of the bandaged hand. “Yikes, dude, what happened?”
Saparata shot him that infuriating smile, one that lifted the twin moles on his cheeks. “Nothing too serious, just an angry cat. It just scratched at everything it saw, but it wasn’t enough to harm me.”
‘So now he’s a cat, huh?’
He removed his hand from the grasp to rub at the bruise on his neck. Unfortunately, 3belowzero saw.
“You’re hurt too?! Ish, how come both my regulars are injured…? Did you fight-”
“You worry too much, Zero.” He took one last sip of his cold coffee and put it aside. “I’m not that stupid to get into a scuffle. It was a random stray dog with no sense or mind. It’s not like I have rabies or anything.”
‘Two can play this game.’
“Ah, thank goodness. To be honest, Flux, I don’t think you’d last that long in a fight.”
He scoffed, but before he could answer, someone else did. “I don’t know, you shouldn’t underestimate him. Maybe he can pull a good punch.”
‘You’d know something like that because I did punch you. And it was a rather worthy punch, if I say so myself.”
“I appreciate it, no need for flattery.” This was way too awkward. He should probably just leave, but it would look suspicious, especially to ‘Saps.’
“What’s so wrong with complimenting a diligent person?”
“What’s diligent is how many plans you made which caused me trouble” was left unsaid, but Fluixon heard it nonetheless.
The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Or the fruit peeler 3belowzero held.
The hostility between them wasn’t for nothing. One of the biggest mysteries in Pandora was the true identities of Helios and the architect. The two masked, they often fought the most, rivaling the most intense hero-villain pair-ups.
Both of them knew the answers, not just for themselves, but for the other as well.
Fluixon knew Helios was Saparata, and Saparata knew The architect was Fluixon, and neither did nor said anything about it.
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
6 Months Ago
Iron.
All he could taste was iron.
In the dark alleyway, the Architect coughed weakly, gripping the wound on his side.
Thomas and Seraphim were able to get back to their base in time, but he wasn’t so lucky. Gripping the wound on the side of his body, he sludged forward, hand on the wall for support.
Dammit, how could he have let this happen?
He groaned when a step pulled at the wound even more. At this rate, he would topple over any second.
His breaths grew quick. Suffocation enveloped his body-Ish, everything hurt.
This alley was in the most barren spot of Pandora.
Fluixon took off his mask and breathed in fresh air. He at least should be grateful he’s alive.
The snap of a twig behind him broke his gratefulness, and he whipped his head around to see a bruised man with white fluffy hair and sun-like eyes and twin moles- with a uniform he recognized.
He moved without thinking, pure adrenaline being his only force. Before he knew it, he found himself straddling the man, one hand fisted in his hair, and the other holding a dagger to his neck.
So this was the great hero Helios. He didn’t expect him to be so…innocent looking? He couldn’t find the words.
“Do anything,” Words trembled out of his mouth. “And I’ll gut you.” He added on by pressing the tip of the blade into the skin, not enough to kill.
Unlike all who battled against and alongside him, he had no gift or ability. His true skill lay in his intellect and the people around him. But now, his brain could not save him, and he was all alone.
He was powerless.
The two masked hero and villain were exposed, and to eachother at that.
Helios(if that was his real name) had suddenly held onto the bleeding wound at the side, and Fluixon winced (and nearly sobbed, embarrassingly) in pain. The other’s eyes widened.
“You-!”
Yet before he could fully kill him, a warm sensation enveloped his body, like the first rays of the sun in the morning. The pain in his body disappeared, and when he looked again, his source of physical anguish was gone, replaced by a scarred hand.
Right, sun powers. He should have known Helios would have healing capabilities.
But…why did he heal him?
Tentatively, he pulled the blade away, yet still kept it close. They had come to a standstill, neither doing anything.
Fluixon couldn’t do this anymore. He got up and leaned against the alley wall. It was still tremendously difficult to walk or stand, and I just opted to slide down the wall instead. He rested his head against his hands and closed his eyes. Even though the most fatal injury was gone, it wasn’t like every single bruise and cut disappeared as well.
“Why?”
He hadn’t even noticed the hero sat near him along the wall. So close, yet his eyes seemed different.
Fluixon opened his eyes, confused. “Excuse me?”
“Why go through all of this?” Helios spoke.
“I told you this long ago-”
“Not that.” He cut Fluixon off, and when he usually would be offended, he couldn’t find the energy to care. “Everyone hates you, and the conspiracy, even more so than they ever hated Schpood. Is this the peace you were talking about?!”
Fluixon’s gaze softened unwillingly. “Have you ever seen the Pandora and Yggdrasil so united before?”
He didn’t miss the way the other’s breath hitched, as if a moment of realization clicked.
“Everyone hated eachother, didn’t they. But now, they’d put everything aside to hunt us down. My original plan to build a new nation and system remains, but if my mere existence causes the hatred of all to bring them closer,” He monologued, saying more than he should. “Then wouldn’t that still achieve peace?”
His voice raised higher. “I don’t care if you heroes find my methods inhumane. If it’s all just a means to harmony, I don’t regret becoming a villain.”
He finally looked at the other again, and wanted to just turn invisible at the intensity of the stare that peeked into his inner soul.
“...I didn’t know.”
“You heroes hardly do.”
Silence filled the space between them for a while before the golden-eyed spoke once more.
“Saparata.”
“Hm?”
“My real name is Saparata.’
Fluixon mouthed the syllables on his lips. It’s a good name. “Why are you telling me this?”
Saparata blinked back into focus. “I-I don’t know.” he ran his hands through his hair. “I guess I owed it to you, after-after you told me all of that.”
Fluixon glared. “I won’t tell you my name.”
“That’s alright.”
He heard Saparata sigh. “Alright,” He pushed himself up. “Let’s make a deal. We both know eachother’s identities now. Let’s just…keep this a secret between us, tell no one. That way we can keep doing what we are doing.”
Fluixon blinked. Even if both of their identities were exposed, the worst would fall onto him. Saparata might lose his personal life, but not his literal life (like Fluixon would.) Saparata gains more than he loses from this. It made absolutely no sense.
Saparata gazed at him. “You’re beautiful.”
And you’re infuriatingly handsome yet adorable.
…
“...What?”
Both of them froze. “Wait-no, I didn’t mean- not like that-!” He stumbled over his words.
“What I mean is- your ideals. I think it's an ideal worth pursuing. I don't agree with your actions, but what you stand for is noble. I mean, your ideals are beautiful, not-”
Fluixon could only stare, dumbfounded.
“S-sorry, I-”
“My name’s Fluixon.”
Was it out of nowhere? Yes, but it definitely helped the man’s meaningless rambling.
The awkwardness dissipated as Saparata smiled. “It suits you.” Dear Ish, he started to get why people compare him to the sun. That smile was enough to make a grown man blush.
He turned his head to the side. “We’ll never speak of this.”
“Agreed.”
Saps began speaking again. “Flux,” god help him, the way his heart jumped at the usage of his name. “I don’t like what you’re doing, but now, I get why.” He faced fluixon with full confidence. “I think…you’re a good person, even if your actions say otherwise.”
His eyes widened in surprise. He’s been called many things, from a monster to horrendous. No one ever called him good, not since…Turkey.
Suddenly, Saparata’s watch pinged, ruining the tense moment. “Crap, I gotta go.” He muttered, as if Fluixon was his partner instead of his enemy.
‘Partner? Couldn’t you have just said, friend? Stop having these thoughts, they aren’t for you.’
As Saparata stood up, the teleportation signal began working. Gold-purple eyes met one last time, and in a flash, leaving Fluixon alone during a cold night.
Well, it wasn’t that cold anymore.
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
Present
The last and only time they showed such mercy to eachother in public was that night.
Since then, whenever Fluixon and Saparata saw eachother in public, they would just awkwardly walk past each other, resentment mixing with embarrassment. Their battles as Helios and The Architect remained as fierce as ever, and were definitely less embarrassing.
Fluxion snapped out of their thoughts as the click of porcelain met wood. He looked down and saw a delicious cup of mocha, just like he liked. It was way better than the black coffee drowned in sweetner and sugar.
His eyes focused to the side, and he saw a cup of dark roast, the most bitter coffee possible (and his least favorite)
“So…” 3belowzero began, resting his arms on the counter. “Don’t mind me asking, but have you guys met eachother before?”
“No, why do you ask?” Fluixon lied shamelessly.
3belowzero shook his head. “No reason, I just get a feeling you guys know eachother, but I’m likely wrong. My gut instinct isn’t as good as it used to be back in the day…”
Actually, it was spot on.
“You’ve been reading way too many novels, zero.” He huffed.
“Probably. Did ya guys do anything this weekend?”
Fluixon thought for a moment. Honestly, he hadn’t done anything a normal person would have done. He wouldn’t be exactly “lying,” just adding on to truths.
After a long sip of his coffee, he began. “Not much.” Aside from nearly destroying a museum by accident because Hvyrotation almost lost control of his powers. “I mostly just worked on assignments,” and also gave assignments to my subordinates to wreak as much strategic havoc as they could.
Saparata hummed. “Yeah, my weekend was pretty much the same. I did sleep a lot-” after exerting your power, making sure the museum doesn't crumble. “God, Saturday was tiring.” I made sure it would be, so that you wouldn’t bother me.
“Sunday was more or less the same.” Except for the fact that Seraphim nearly killed Jophiel. She would have succeeded if it weren’t for-.
“Helios is really doing great right now, huh?” 3belowzero had turned the news on, and immediately were shown a scene of Helios absolutely kicking some other villain’s ass. (The conspiracy would NEVER be humbled that way.)
To be honest, Helios was an excellent fighter, and he admired him(in fighting, of course). The way his body pivoted with strength around his opponents spoke of years of training. His swiftness was excellent as well, like that of a hawk.
(And if he stared extra long at the way Helios’ muscles flexed both then and now, no one would have to know.)
In truth, Fluixon was never a really physically active person, and mostly relied on tech, machines, and allies to fight for him. If he ever did fight, it would only be a last-case scenario. So yes, when training himself, he did use his opponents as a reference.
On the topic of Helios…
He stared to the left of him at Saparata. Clearly embarrassed, but hiding it. It was only after he noticed Flux’s (rather obvious) staring that the flush on his face took over.
It’s likely because of bashfulness, seeing himself on the TV being praised endlessly. He was never good with compliments.
He turned back to 3belowzero, only to see the most skeptical look on his face-
-At both of them.
Damn it, did he find out their identities at this exact moment? How? Nothing even gave it away-
‘Calm down, Fluixon.’ He thought to himself. ‘You’re just overreacting.’
He coughed. “Ahem, Zero?”
3belowzero blinked. “Oh, yes, my bad.” He shrugged. “Do you guys want some complimentary snacks?”
“There’s no need-”
“I insist.” He pushed out a plate of medelines, his personal favorite. 3belowzero used to get some for him at the end of every shift. Nostalgia crept into his rational mind.
“Hm. Well, there’s no need to deny such a gift.”
“Yo, I love Madelines! They’re my favorite since I was a kid!”
“What a coincidence! Fluixon also really liked these as long as I knew him-!”
Flux sighed. “Zero, please.”
Saparata giggled. It sounded like music. “Come on, no one’s gonna make fun of you for liking Madelines. Who doesn’t love them?”
He grumbled. Damn this sunny man.
The scene was interrupted by 3belowzero’s cell phone ringing. “Oh, one moment.” After a few seconds, he responded. “Ah, got it.” He cut the call and turned to the two.
“The order I made for more acacia beans is here. I’ll be back, but until then, you two talk.” He said, talking like he was trying to imply something else, but Fluixon didn’t have the energy to figure it out.
After he left, the cafe went silent until Saparata spoke. “Does he know?”
He didn’t have to go into detail for Flux to catch what he was saying. “No. He detests the conspiracy.”
The other nodded. “Do you still want to do this? After all that’s happened?” He turned towards Flux, staring him right in the eye, neither able to back away from the intense eye contact.
“Yes.” He stared right back.
Saparata sighed. “How long will you keep doing this?”
Fluixon narrowed his eyes. “As long as it takes to achieve world peace.”
The hero took a deep breath. “You don’t have to do this-you don’t need to. Everyone is mostly united now, right? If you stop, you and the conspiracy won’t even have to give yourself in! I’m sure to make up for everything, the companies can recruit you as heroes-”
“Shut it.”
Saparata never stopped talking so quickly.
“How much trust must you put in the hero-companies of Pandora. You don't know what will really happen, do you?”
He glared. “They’ll kill us, without a doubt. If you were framed, they’d do the same.” Realizing the heat of the words that came out of his mouth, he closed his eyes. Inhale. Exhale. He opened his eyes, gaze and voice calmer.
“We made this choice long ago. Don’t try to protect us.”
And with that, he placed some cash on the table and left before Saparata could say anything.
· · ─ ·ʚɞ· ─ · ·
Saparata stared at the door long after Fluixon left.
3belowzero had returned after he went, and Saps just lied and said his friend from college called him for project work. The lie felt bitter on his teeth.
He shifted his gaze from his mug to 3belowzero. He knew fluixon had been going to this cafe for a while now, and he only went just to see if 3belowzero was assisting him or anything, but now…
“Hey, zero?”
3belowzero stood up from where he was organizing dishes. “What's up?”
“What was Fluixon like before…” He became the architect. “I met him?”
The cafe owner struggled to hold back a smile. “Well, he was super passionate about the political state of Pandora and such. Would always rant to me every time he got a break, and sometimes even on the job.”
“He worked here?”
“Yup.” He spoke fondly while cleaning the coffee filter. “He’s a bright kid, yanno? I have high hopes for him. Things have changed a lot since…”
“Saparata perked his ears up. “Hm?”
“I shouldn’t say. He’s been through a lot. But that hasn’t stopped him, and I think that’s the greatest thing about him.”
Saps pursed his lips, deep in thought. He thought about that night, maskless, as they poured out their thoughts to each other.
He still remembered the determination in his eyes.
The architect- no, Fluixon shouldn’t be a target for the means of peace.
He’ll save him, one way or another.
“Why’d you ask?” 3belowzero broke him out of his thoughts.
“It’s nothing, just curious.” He smiled.
“Ahh, don’t try to lie to me, Saps.”
Saparata blinked. “What?”
3belowzero snickered. “You so obviously had a thing for him.”
…
“...What?!”
Saparata sputtered. “No-no absolutely not! I literally just met him-”
“You sure about that? You both stared at eachother like you found your soulmate.”
“I’m sure I don't like him, kinda-”
“Kinda?”
“Zerooo.” He laughed.
“Fine, fine, I’ll let you be- But, if you wan’t me to set you up with him, you know who to call.” And with that, he just went back to cleaning the mugs as if nothing had happened.
Saparata sighed and scrolled through his phone. News, clickbait, all that stuff-
He paused, seeing an image of the architect caught by a scared civilian. Bloody, but Alive. Tired, but still standing.
He might have stared at the image for a bit too long.