"Hey, Lex, I'm just going to head out and grab us some takeout for dinner." I call out, assuming he's in the bedroom.

I was corrected however, when I turned and saw him standing in the kitchen. He raises an eyebrow.

"John, I'm making dinner for us tonight. I told you this earlier, I'm making meatloaf." Alex frowns, leaning against the counter as he sets the pan down.

"Oh, uh.. Right, I remember now." I say, looking around. "Well, um, I just remembered we're on the last roll of toilet paper, so I'd better head to the store and grab some." I laugh nervously.

He crosses his arms. "Right now? It's eight at night, the stores are about to close."

"Well then I'd better be fast." I say, walking up to him. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back before dinner is done, I promise."

He stays in his frowning position, but sighs gently. "Okay.. Don't be too long." He says.

I nod and walk out the front door, running out the building. I find a public bathroom and when the coast is clear, go to change into my super suit.

I've had to up my patrols since the last heist, which means at least one a night. But that meant more lying to Alex.

I fly out of the bathroom and do my nightly routine, with nothing seeming out of the ordinary.

After I finish making sure everything was alright, I change back and walk back home, picking up some toilet paper on the way to make my story plausible.

I get back in time for dinner as promised and we eat, Alex not having much to say.

The night after that it was the same thing again. And same with the night after that, and the next night. I hated it, but in all reality, I was doing this for his safety.

After about a week and a half, though, Alex was not happy.

"John, where are you headed?" Alex asks. I turn to see him sitting on the couch, setting his phone down. "Let me guess, you're going for a stroll in the park. Or you're picking up some eggs. Oh wait, that was last night, we couldn't possibly need eggs right now."

I freeze up. He knew I was lying. I mean, obviously he would. He's the smartest person I knew, and unfortunately lying wasn't one of my powers.

"I was just going to meet up with one of my classmates and go over some homework we had." I explain.

"Right, that explains why you're leaving without your school stuff. What's really in your bag? Because I saw all of your binders and shit sitting on your nightstand." He says.

"Well, I mean, I already did the work. I'm just helping him out-"

"So it is a 'him,' then." He interrupts, crossing his arms.

I raise an eyebrow. "I- what?"

"You think I'm stupid or something? You've been sneaking out every night to meet up with someone - with some other guy! Do you not understand how this looks?" He asks.

It takes me a moment to understand what he was saying, but once I do, I quickly drop my bag and walk over to the couch, shaking my head. "Alex, I swear that whatever you're thinking, it isn't that. I would never."

"Then why have you been sneaking out every night? Why are you really leaving?"

I sit down next to him and try to grab his hand, but he pulls it away. "Alex, please. It's nothing, I swear. You don't need to worry about it."

"Then stay. Don't go out tonight. Stay with me."

I hesitate, but eventually nod, giving in. I couldn't justify doing this all for Alex if in the end I was going to ignore his needs anyway. "Okay, I'll stay. I'm sorry."

He looks up at me and sighs, hugging me. "No more lies, okay? I don't care what you were doing before, but I don't want you to lie to me anymore."

"No more lies, I promise." Of course it was a lie. Another stupid lie.

We stay in the rest of the night, enjoying each other's company and eventually heading to bed. He fell asleep rather quickly, but the guilt of not patrolling tonight kept me awake. I look down at Alex and slip out of bed. One quick patrol to put my mind at ease. He would never know, there'd be no lying. It'd be alright.

I go out and fly around the city, it being the same as every night before. This guy's heists were very random, and didn't have any rhyme or reason, which made it harder to catch him. This guy knew what he was doing.

I just wish I knew what he was doing.

I soon decide it's time to head back to bed, as the city was quiet tonight. As I'm flying back, though, I notice a person on the roof of my apartment building. And upon closer look, I notice it's Alex. I was going to try and fly away, but he saw me. It was too late to run.

I look down at myself and sigh, realizing at least I'm still in my suit. I was just going to have to officially meet him as Hyperion.

"You know, it's not safe to be out on the roof at this time." I say, landing and walking up to him.

He looks up at me, raising an eyebrow. "It's pretty late for a patrol, don't you think?" He then half chuckles. "Actually, I think it's too late to be doing anything, but apparently some people don't think that way."

Shit. He's up. He's realized that I left him. Oh I am in a world of trouble.

I tilt my head at him, playing dumb. "Something bothering you?" I ask.

He scoffs slightly at me. "Don't you have better things to do? You're a hero, you don't have time to listen to my rants." He waves me off.

I hesitate but sit in front of him, careful to keep a slight distance so he doesn't recognize me. "My job is to help the citizens. Everyone else seems to be doing fine right now, so it's your turn."

He looks me up and down before rolling his eyes slightly. "It's just my boyfriend. I feel like he's hiding something from me, but he won't tell me anything. He just keeps making up excuses, and lying. And then he snuck away while I was sleeping. Woke up to an empty bed, yay me."

I pull my knees up and rest my elbows on them. I nod slightly. "Right, right. Well.. What do you think he's hiding? Do you think he's cheating on you?"

He thinks about it but then shakes his head. "No, no that's not it. I mean, the thought has crossed my mind, but he's not the cheating type. No, he's lying about something else, I just have no idea what it is." He leans back. "It could be family related. He doesn't like talking about his dad or siblings much. And if it is family related then I don't wanna push, but I can't stand the lying."

"Have you talked to him about this?" I ask, as if I didn't know the answer. I mean, he had confronted me, but he didn't bring up any of his suspicions.

He shrugs gently. "Sort of. I called him out on it tonight. Told him I didn't care what he was doing, he just needed to stop lying to me. Then he lied to me again." He looks at me and chuckles slightly. "God, what am I doing? Ranting to a superhero about my love life?"

I smile gently. "Hey, I offered to listen." I tell him. "I gotta tell you, the secrets suck. But from the sound of it, he doesn't like them just as much as you do. I mean, take it from me. Some secrets are hard to keep, but so important to not reveal."

He nods slightly. "Right.. You have anyone in your life you have to keep your identity from?"

I pause but shake my head. "Nah, I'm more of a lone wolf."

He frowns. "That's a shame."

"It makes life easier to maintain."

"It must get lonely, though." He says. He leans forward. "Is that why you took a break from heroing?"

I clear my throat slightly, looking to the side. "I think it's best I keep my private life just that. Ya know, especially while this thief is out."

"Right.. The rock hunter." He chuckles gently and shakes his head. "You know, I think my boyfriend might be more obsessed with him than you are. If he were here now, I'd bring him out so you two could talk about all the insane research he's done. He can't leave well enough alone, even after he gets hurt.." He looks down slightly and frowns.

I frown too. "Well, he should do his best to stay out of the way of this villain."

"You really think this guy is a villain? That just seems like such a harsh word."

I tilt my head. "I mean, I've fought him once. He didn't seem very friendly to me. Didn't stick around long enough for me to ask his intentions."

"But maybe they're not bad, ya know?" He suggests. "I don't know, just a thought that crossed my mind. Maybe I just wish he was a good guy so my partner would stop worrying so much."

I nod and look at the city. "I guess we'll have to wait and see." I sigh and stand up. "I'd better get going now. I hope everything works out with your boyfriend."

"Thank you. I do, too." He gives a slight wave. "I guess I'll see you around, good luck with the rock hunter."

I nod and fly away, going back to my hiding spot to change back into my civilian form. It was time to go talk to Alex as myself, and try to lay his suspicions to rest. I also needed to let go of the crystal thief as John. I couldn't risk losing Alex. 

1703 Words

Here ya go, double update because I forgot to for a couple weeks lol. Enjoyy