This story was requested by ferrisprydesdayoff . Thank you for requesting a one-shot.
(V/N) stands for "villain name"

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The battle was only five minutes long so far. But it looked to be ages older, as half the city had already been destroyed in the chaos. Both of you having the ability to fly, you stared at the man in the air a few feet away from you, anger and determination written on your face, as was his, despite it being covered in black-and-white paint. The Fox, so this pathetic town dubbed him. The first time you'd taken your abilities down a darker path, with the intent of wiping the city off the map, he showed up out of the blue and picked a fight in the middle of your destruction. Since then, you were enemies to the core. You always saw newspapers about the two of you; "The Fox, hero of New York, versus [V/N], embodiment of fear itself." The title was neat, but the rest of it was pure garbage, and painfully predictable of these people.
The Fox suddenly shifted and disappeared from view, only to reappear behind you and knock you out of the sky, sending you crashing into the concrete below before you could think to get ahold of yourself. Dammit. That cheap trick of his. You could never figure out how to get around his invisibility; It didn't matter how many lightning bolts you hurled into the air. He could see you, and you couldn't see him.
As you heaved yourself out of the indent in the cement, The Fox started towards you, but you got up and took off. Out of sight, watching from the shadows in disgust as the New Yorkers celebrated him. Someday, you thought to yourself. I'm gonna kill that bastard, and these people will thank me for it when their on their knees in front of me.

———

The upside about all of this was that nobody knew who you were outside of your second form. Destroying New York was like... A hobby at this point. You weren't like the villains in movies who were known for one thing and one thing only. You knew to play it safe and had something more innocent to fall back to in between attacks. When you weren't [V/N], you were friendly neighbourhood [Y/N], who had a job at a coffee shop, a small apartment filled to the brim with dog-related items, and an adorable boyfriend you loved to death - Given he might be the last thing you truly love in this world, bad guys need it too, right?

You sat on the couch a few hours after the ordeal, trying to dress a nasty wound from the cement earlier, Netflix playing shows on the TV and a large plushie seated next to you. Your boyfriend was supposed to be here about half an hour ago, for a night together filled with movies and such. As if on cue, the knock on the door made you rush over and open the door to see if it was him.
And there he was, with that heart-melting smile of his, eyes brighter than the sun, and a desperate attempt to hide something from you behind his back. Eric Carr really enjoyed the simple things in life; He was envious of your job, the coffee shop being where you first met. He liked instruments and carnivals and getting stuck in a good book... And dogs. Something he thought he had in common with you. (In reality, they reminded you too much of The Fox. Your house was only decorated in that theme to blend in with the crowd a little better.)

"Hi, [Y/N]!" He said cheerfully. "Can I come in?"
You giggled. "Of course, silly." You replied, stepping aside as Eric closed the door behind him and gave you a kiss on the cheek. "I missed you, y'know. Where were you?"
"Long day in the office. I'm sorry." He responded. The look in his eyes made you suspicious of the reality behind that statement. But before you could bring it up, he continued, "But I brought something for you."
Eric took his hand out from behind his back, revealing a small, glass fox figurine. "It's not much, but does this complete your collection?" He asked.
"Aaaawww!" You pretended to squeal in delight at the object in his hands, as you leaned forward to kiss him instead of taking it right away. You had to choke back your real feelings towards the gift... A fox? Really? It was sickening, but Eric didn't know. And if you didn't accept it, it would hurt his feelings. Besides, it was a sweet gesture.
"You shouldn't have!" You said happily. "I didn't get you anything!"
"Aw, I'm just happy you're happy, [Y/N]." He responded.

You took the figurine and lead him to the living room, showing him exactly where you would place it; It got it's own spot on an empty surface of the movie library. It was a nice spot for it. And Eric seemed happy, too.

———

Almost a month later, as the fighting against The Fox continued, it got exhausting. And sometimes, just sometimes, you wondered if it was really worth it to try to destroy New York. Deep down you knew that was only because loving Eric was softening you. But it was fun to love him, he was a great guy. And even if The Fox killed you one day, well... Eric would be okay.
The two of you sat together on the couch, watching a few news stories on the television while waiting for a movie to broadcast on a different channel. It was peaceful, until a new story caught your attention.
"So, this is interesting..." A lady on the TV was saying to her partner. "We just got some pictures from an amateur photographer on The Fox's real identity."
"Oh yeah? Let's see them," The man responded, a disbelieving smile on his face.
"You'd think they rehearsed all of this beforehand - He should know." You joked. But you didn't notice Eric's face had gone completely pale at the news.
But he chuckled anyway. "That's just what they want you to think." He said.
As the news reporters joked for a moment or two longer, the picture suddenly flashed onto the screen. A picture of... Eric.
"What the hell..." You mumbled to yourself. Then louder; "What the hell? That's you!"
You got up, while Eric stayed put. "[Y/N], I'm sorry— I was gonna tell you— I just had no clue how to bring it up!" He admitted. "Hey, I'm Eric. Did you know I'm also The Fox? It would have been awkward—!"
There was no use in arguing this. Eric, the sweetest guy you'd ever known, was also the man you hated to the core. You loved him. And you also wished him dead. How could I have been so stupid?! you thought angrily.
Eyes and palm glowing, a strike of lightning erupted from your hand and hit one of those ridiculous dog plushies on the couch. Eric jumped back to safety, horror and confusion written on his face as the fire lit up and died as quickly, burning the object to ashes.
"[V/N]?!"

"You're an idiot!" You shouted. "I'm an idiot! How did I miss it?! You're— We're supposed to hate each other! You didn't get some sort of off feeling around me or anything?! Like you're supposed to dislike me?"
"And what about you?" Eric retorted. "You're a monster, I've only ever seen you wanting to destroy buildings and— What the hell are you doing around me?"
"You approached me first, I— You—" Neither of you knew what to say to each other. You both had mixed feelings about this. For the past six months you'd never had a huge disagreement, you were madly in love. And at the same time you were fighting to the death every other week and nobody had any idea? What was the proper response?
You swiftly dried a tear on your face with your sleeve, looking up at Eric through eyes shining with anger. "I think you should go." You managed.
Eric frowned at you for a minute, before shaking his head as he turned. "Fine." He said. "Fine! I'll see you around."
You didn't watch him leave, what was the point? But you certainly heard the door slam as you turned back to the television and shut it off, tossing the remote onto the table with a thud. You guessed that was that, and the next time the two of you would meet would be as enemies.

———

But it had been weeks since that fight. You were too depressed to bother leaving the house to wreak havoc, and you guessed New York was a little suspicious (and a little relieved) that [V/N] wasn't after them anymore. If anything it was to go out for work and come home again. Eric didn't even go to your coffee shop anymore — Sometimes you wondered if he'd found a new one to go to, started hitting up a pretty cashier at that place, and they were a happy couple doing all of the things the two of you used to do.
You didn't want to admit it, but you missed Eric. A lot. For some reason, the near year of fighting didn't matter at all anymore. You were in love, and you threw that away because... Well, who the hell would want to pass a feeling like that up? You'd have to be insane.
You tried to tell yourself, Forget about him. You've lived without that kind of love in your life before — You can sure as hell do it again, [Y/N.] Forget him! But it was near impossible. That smile. Those eyes. The way he tried to hide a gift behind his back but made it obvious anyway.
Forget him? Forget this. You told yourself. Enough is enough. I can pass up destruction for him.
With a sigh, you picked up your cellphone and dialled Eric's number, holding the phone to your ear.

The phone rang four times before somebody picked up. "Hello?" Eric said. He didn't even sound the least bit effected by the argument.
"Hi." You said.
There was a pause.
"...Hi, [Y/N.]"

The phone call lasted an hour. But the both of you seemed to be on the same page by the end of it.
"I miss you, Eric."
"..."
"...Hello?"
"...I miss you, too, [Y/N]."
"I don't want to be like this anymore."
"What?"
"I said... I want to change. Because... If it means I get to be with you, then I don't wanna be the bad guy anymore."
"Yeah... I think it's time this came to an end."
"..."
"...I love you."
"...I love you too, Eric."

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