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Tapping his foot, Adrian waited and waited for his name to be called. At work, one of his coworkers had accidentally clocked him around the head with a metal serving tray and his manager forced him to go to the hospital to get it checked out. He had tried to dismiss it, but, apparently, it was 'company policy' that any head wounds had to be professionally checked out. Something about a past lawsuit that had rinsed them of half of their money got them skittish. He was driven to the ER and left to wait by himself.
He could've left. His manager would never know.
But, he saw someone who he'd thought he'd never see again. Y/N L/N.
Fuck. She looked just the same as she had in high school. Maybe a little more tired. Her hair still looked like silk. Her skin still soft. Her eyes kind and, currently, had red half-moon splotches under. Her smile, well, her smile didn't seem to be there anymore.
Would she remember him? Probably not. She was in the year below and they had occasionally spoken. The times they had, he had made her laugh. So there was a chance. A slim chance. But still a chance.
By the look of it, she was waiting for her broken nose to be checked out. A light trail of blood slowly dripped from her nostril and she was too late to notice it before it fell onto the white apron around her waist.
As he watched, he felt the overwhelming urge to say something. He just had to talk to her and hope that she would still recognize him, and then...fuck, he didn't know what to do after that.
Luckily, he was sitting near a table. A table that had a box of tissues on it. Sick. A way to begin an interaction. He plucked a tissue out and gently tapped her on the shoulder, holding it out for her to take. Her eyes widened and she slowly turned her head to look at his outstretched hand. She thanked him and began mopping up the blood. For a second, he was sure she had no idea who he was.
After the day she had been through, Y/N was in a little bit of a daze. After her particularly tiring and long shift at Moxie's Motel and Diner, she had expected to relax at home. Well, that didn't happen. Not at all.
Out of nowhere, a stranger had given her a tissue. It was the nicest thing that had happened today. She could've started crying. But didn't. She was in public, for god's sake. That would be embarrassing. And she already had broken her nose. That was embarrassing enough.
She could feel their eyes still on her. Had she not said thank you? Uncertainly, she lifted her head and finally looked at the stranger's face. Wait, that's not a stranger. "Adrian?"
"Hey, Y/N," he replied with a soft smile. He was so endearing when he smiled. His whole face lit up. She remembered that he always went around with a goofy boyish grin. She also remembered how it used to fall whenever someone made fun of him.
"You've got different glasses."
"Sat on my last pair." Technically, that's true. On one of his first outings as Vigilante, he hadn't quite perfected the suit and all of its pockets yet so when the first bad guy sent him on his ass, he shattered his old thick square rimmed specs in his back pocket. It was a stupid place to put them. It was a lesson well earned.
Moving to the seat next to her, Adrian happily took his place beside her and instructed, "You know, for bloody noses you have to tilt your head back."
Instantly, she did as he said, but didn't tilt back far enough, so he slowly reached out and tilted her head for her, tentatively placing his hand under her chin and slowly pushing upwards. It was so weird to her. The way he touched her with such care. She wasn't used to that. It brought a shy smile to her lips. That was another thing she remembered about him. He always seemed so sweet.
Silence took over them for a while. She wanted to thank him but couldn't find the courage to say it out loud. And he wanted to say anything he could, just so she'd respond and he could hear her voice. "I'm, like, a professional when it comes to nosebleeds," he joked, looking at his hands. "They do say that high school is a place for learning."
Before she could hold it back, she let out a small chuckle. It wasn't funny. He was talking about all those times he got his ass kicked as a teen and here she was, laughing at him. But it seemed to be okay since his face lit up when she did. "Hey, I'm glad you think it's funny," he playfully teased, weakly bumping his shoulder into hers. Dramatically, he leant across and took another tissue out of the box, waving it around like a flag. "Most teenage boys keep Kleenex in business for a completely different reason than I did."
Talking to him was nice. It was a lovely change.
"I mean, I totally did the other reason too. Come on, I was a teenage boy! Of course. I'm sure I was, at one point, Kleenex's number one customer. They loved me back then."
"Did you get a badge in the mail or anything?" She retorted through her laughter, which hurt a little to do but it was worth it.
"No! I was expecting one and everything," he jeered. His mother often looked at him in confusion when he added tissues to her shopping list every time she made one. "I was expecting a full PR package full of those super large soft ones, but nothing. Not even a balsam."
"Not even a balsam? That's so rude of them." Y/N never would've guessed that the most interesting part of her day would be spent talking about tissues. Actually, this was probably the most interesting thing that she'd experienced in the entire month.
Handing her another tissue as her current one was drenched in blood, Adrian finally got up the courage to ask, "So, how'd you do that?"
Now that was not something she wanted to divulge. Well, she did. But she shouldn't. It wasn't really any of his business anyway.
"There's a spot over by the fire station. It's always icy," she lied. For some reason, that line seemed familiar to him. It was as if he had heard it before. Maybe he had heard that exact line in a TV show once.
He fully believed her. That was until she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, unknowingly showing off a faint make-up covered bruise on the corner of her jaw.
"Still going out with Tony Hess?" It was unlikely. High School sweethearts rarely ever make it past graduation. Well, Tony was anything but sweet. He had no idea why Y/N dated him.
You'd imagine his surprise when she nodded. She had been with the same guy ever since she had been fifteen? That was astounding. Tony wasn't even interesting. He was just big, bad, and dumb. He was always picking a fight.
Especially with Adrian.
It was crazy how often Tony sought out the younger Chase brother. Every time he did, it was always behind Y/N's back. On the few times she had caught him, she got in between and forced her lump of a boyfriend away.
One day after a particularly rough beating, Adrian had slumped himself against the brick wall just outside of the science rooms, hoping for some peace and quiet while he recovered. It was obvious that she had come looking for him since she rushed up and checked his injuries.
"Was it Tony again?"
"Not this time," he lied, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth. He reared back a bit when she reached out to examine his blackening eye. "I think you deserve better than that guy."
That was something to think about. Her father had said the same thing the day before.
Ignoring his comment, she retrieved an ice pack from her bag and wrapped it in her cardigan before placing it over his eye, explaining, "I stole this from the nurse when she wasn't looking. Don't go telling on me now."
"Never."
Returning to the present, Adrian took a breath. A deep one. Y/N glanced over at him, waiting for whatever was going to come out of his mouth. It was clear he was prepping to ask her a question. Probably about Tony.
Men like Tony never change. "Did he give you that bruise? The one on your jaw?"
She froze at the question, her cheeks turning a deep shade of crimson. It felt like she had been punched in the gut. "Yeah," she replied, trying to swallow the knot in her throat. "It was a misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding?" There was anger in his voice. She didn't miss the slight widening of his eyes or the clenching of his fists. For a second, she was afraid that he was going to hit her and the colour drained from her face.
No. Adrian would never do that. Tony would. Tony had. But Adrian? Never.
Sighing, he ran his hands through his hair. "I should've kicked his ass."
"Yeah, probably," she said quietly. It was unlike her to admit such a thing. "Be my guest."
Was that confirmation? She wanted him to beat her deadbeat boyfriend to death. Domestic violence is a crime so he had planned on doing it anyway. Just to confirm, he asked, "Do you want me to kick his ass, yes or no?"
What the hell did cute, sweet Adrian Chase just say to her? He had to be joking. No. The look on his face made it clear that he was serious. But did that mean he was going to? Or did it mean he thought she wanted him to?
Before she could answer, a nurse arrived and called out her name. Adrian's eyes were on hers as she darted her focus between him and the nurse. He knew that she was considering what he said. She wanted to say yes and that was enough for him.
"Ma'am, we can easily give your space to somebody else." Tearing her eyes off him, Y/N allowed herself to be guided away from the conversation and into the consultation room.
Vigilante had a mission: kill Tony Hess.
Going about that was easier than most would believe. Tony Hess worked at the garage and was working the late shift. Perfect. He'd be making his way home during Vigilante's street stalking times. It was easy to track his route. The guy was loud.
Tony drove straight to a bar after work with his mechanic buddies. All of whom were as broad shouldered and dim-looking as Tony. Adrian, dressed normally with the exception of his Vigilante gloves, leant against a dumpster, idly tapping on the lid as he waited for Tony to have a smoke break. He had more than a few during work. That motherfucker couldn't go forty minutes without tarring his lungs.
As soon as Tony exited and lit up a cigarette, Adrian pretended to be on his phone and 'happened' to look up as his ex bully arrived. "No way! No fucking way, Cockmuncher Chase!" Tony exclaimed, the cigarette in his mouth hanging loosely from his lips.
Oh, how Adrian hadn't missed that nickname. He had said that a guy looked 'a little more muscly these days', and in the 00's that meant he got a one way ticket to being called gay. Forcing a polite smile, he replied, "Sorry, do I know you?"
How could Adrian ever forget the man who ridiculed him mercilessly and made his life a living hell for years. It was a blessing at the time that Tony was a year older than Adrian, or maybe it was two or three. He had been held back a few years. Still, Adrian's senior year was a little calmer without Tony around.
"Tony Hess. You remember me. You've got to remember me," Tony smirked, flashing his teeth. "I used to be friends with your brother. Yeah, he ripped me a new one when he found out that I dangled you over the railings of the third floor stairs."
"Oh. Hess. Yeah, I think I remember you."
"Maybe you remember my girl, Y/N, better? You were always drooling over her."
Adrian forced himself not to start shit yet. He wanted to unnerve Tony before he killed him. Keep him off balance. That would throw him off his rhythm.
Shaking his head in fake disbelief, Adrian replied, "Y/N, yeah. I remember her."
"Course you do."
"I remember how she'd always find me after you beat me up. Her hands." He started making his way towards Tony. "Her hands were always so soft."
"You really want to relive your teenage years, big guy?" Tony asked, taking another drag off his cigarette. "Are you sure you want to go another round?"
Hell yeah, he wanted to go for another round. He was 100% certain that he'd win this time. Adrian stopped in his tracks. "You scared me there for a second, Hess."
"For a second? I must be going soft."
"Only when you're trying to get it up," Adrian retorted, cackling at his own joke.
Tony laughed, a short, nasty sound that made Adrian want to gag him. "Well, you won't be laughing when I take you out, Cockmuncher."
"I'll take that bet," Adrian said, without cracking a smile.
Without missing a beat, Tony was quick to follow up by slamming Adrian into the brick behind him by the throat. He did this so that he could lean in close to his face and spit in his eye. "There's no way you're getting out of this," he said, his breath hot on his face.
"Trying to turn me on? It's working."
The bully's face morphed into one of pure disgust. "I'm going to kill you, you piece of shit."
"Really? Go ahead. Try to fuck with me." Adrian let out a throaty laugh as Tony reared back his hand to try and punch him in the head. He didn't. Tony got a swift headbutt and an uppercut to the gut. "Come on, Tones, you've got to try better than that."
He stumbled back, clutching his stomach in a groaning fit that was pitiful to see. What a pussy. Trying to get some space between them, Tony dropped the cigarette and stomped it out on the ground so hard. "I want to thank you, Hess. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't become Vigilante," Adrian admitted. This guy was going to be dead soon. It's not as if his corpse could spill the beans. "From the bottom of my heart, thank you."
Shock. Tony's face fell and he backed away from Adrian, tripping backwards and landing on his ass. He attempted to scramble away but Adrian stopped him, placing his shoe against Tony's throat.
"Did you give Y/N a broken nose?"
"It was a misunderstanding." Tony's face turned red as he spat, "Fuck. You can have her. Tell you what, give me my life and I'll give you Y/N. Fair trade."
"It's nowhere near fair. Y/N is worth so much. More than life itself." Adrian grabbed a penknife from his pocket and leant down to hold it against Tony's throat. "And your life? It's worth nothing. Less than nothing."
Tony squirmed under his grasp. He was sweating profusely and was starting to hyperventilate. But that was okay. He didn't panic for long. Adrian plunged the knife in his eye before he made too much of a fuss. The last sounds of Tony Hess were muffled by Adrian's fingers clamped over his mouth. He kept his hand over Tony's mouth as he pulled the knife out of his eye and stabbed him again in the other one. As a final 'fuck you', Adrian made sure to break his nose with one heavy stomp.
Y/N had stayed at her sister's for the night, too scared to go home after her injuries. So when the police came to her home, she was nowhere to be found. Her phone had been smashed during the altercation so they couldn't reach her there either. From the outside, it looked suspicious.
It only was when Y/N got to work in the morning that she was told about her boyfriend's murder. She'd been shocked at first, her stomach sinking and her limbs weakening. Then her resolve hardened. This was a good thing for her in the long run.
Police officers soon came in to officially explain everything to her. The only detail that stuck in her head was that his nose was broken. It was common. But they had matching injuries? Whoever had killed Tony had to know about her broken nose. And the only person who took interest in her yesterday was Adrian. So...
No. He was joking about the ass kicking thing. Right?
Claiming that she needed to take the day off, Y/N made her way to Fennel Fields. Adrian had been wearing his uniform in the ER so that must be where he worked. She hoped he'd be there. Maybe he'd have some answers. Actually, no, she hoped he didn't have any.
Ordering whatever was cheapest, Y/N waited and scanned the restaurant for him. It was possible that he wasn't working today. Maybe he had the day off. But there he was, coming out of the kitchen, preparing to clear away some cutlery. He caught her gaze and instantly sat opposite her. It was uneasy as they both stared at each other. She spoke first, her voice hushed as she leant forward to whisper, "Was, uh... was it you? Did you kill him? Tony?"
"Oh my god, is Tony dead?" It was unconvincing. They both knew he had. She gave him a hard look, narrowing her eyes.
Was she angry? No. Sad? Not even in the slightest. So, what the absolute fuck was she feeling? He had done her a favour. A not very nice or moral favour. But still a favour.
"Thank you," she let out. It was the only thing she could think to say. She was overwhelmed with gratitude. She was free of that jerk because of him. It was more than she could have hoped for.
Before he got yelled at to get back to work, he grabbed a crayon and one of those printed mazes that they give children to scribble down his number. "If you ever need me again."
And boy, did she need him sooner than she had ever hoped.
Making her way back to her now Tony free apartment, she wandered around, looking at everything he had once owned. It was hers now, she guessed. And since it was hers, she'd be selling it as soon as she could. That would be a few couple hundred dollars to cushion her pocket. Maybe she'd even book a spa day. Maybe she'd bring Adrian along to thank him.
Shit, she felt so relieved that she started playing some music, dancing in her underwear without a care in the world. She could even eat the entire tub of ice cream in the freezer without harsh remarks about her gaining weight. She could watch what she wanted to on television for once. She could turn the heating up so she wasn't freezing. There was a world of new possibilities.
Fast paced knocking burst her bubble. She turned the music down and asked, "Who is it?"
"Leo. Y/N, open up." Obviously, Tony's drinking buddy would want something. He might have left a six pack of beer here and, now that Tony was dead, wanted to retrieve it. She unlocked the door and opened it slightly, leaving enough room to peek through.
Leo didn't wait for her to let him through. He just barged his way in, pushing the door and her behind it. Immediately, his eyes focused on her. "What the fuck is going on in here?"
"Uh, nothing. I'm just, you know... cleaning up."
He scanned around the apartment. It was cleaner than usual. Probably since all of Tony's stuff had already been boxed up. He gave her a quick once-over, and his eyebrow twitched at the sight of a half-eaten tub of slowly melting ice cream on the counter. She seemed awfully joyful for someone who had lost their other half. "What are you doing with Tony's stuff?"
Trying her best to sound sombre, she lied, "I can't look at it. Too many happy memories."
Sensing the lie, he shook his head slightly and took a step back, surveying the area. "What are you going to do with it?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure. Ask me again in a few days when I'm not so emotionally distraught over the death of my boyfriend."
Y/N noticed Leo looking at her legs. Fuck. She was just in a baggy shirt and underwear. It would be best if she put more clothes on. The way he stared made her uncomfortable. "I'm going to be right back," she informed him, hurrying to her bedroom. It was at times like this she wished the door had a lock.
Tony may have not put a lock on the door. But he did have a gun hidden under the bed. She could use that. Just to threaten. Never to use.
Retrieving the double barrelled shotgun, she loaded it and waited to see if he had followed her. He had. She levelled it at his head.
"Woah, woah. Why so hostile, sweet cheeks?"
She took a deep breath. "Please exit my house."
"This isn't your house, bitch. It's Tony's."
Hadn't this guy heard? "Tony is fucking dead!" She exclaimed with glee, unable to hide her smile. "So, you know... technically, this is my house now."
"Who in the fuck do you -" He tried stepping towards her but she moved her finger over the trigger.
Mustering all the confidence she could, she warned, "Come a step closer and I'll blow your fucking brains out, asshole."
Leo didn't move. Maybe she had overplayed her hand. He may have thought she was bluffing. That could be why he outstretched his hands and retorted, "Look who finally grew a backbone. Sweetheart, you're about fifteen years overdue. Why don't yo-"
He did it. He took a step closer and she pulled the trigger. The blast was so loud, her ears rang for a good ten seconds after it occurred. She had to drop the gun to cover them with her hand to stop the noise. That wasn't subtle by any means.
Oh fuck. Oh no. What? What the absolute fuck should she do now? Could this be argued as self defence? Probably. But, then again, her boyfriend had just been murdered and now she was going around shooting his best friend. That's an easy link to make. That would be enough to convince a jury. Probably. Most likely. Fuck.
Adrian. Adrian would know what to do. She called him and waited for him to pick up. It seemed like forever before he answered with, "Who is this?"
"I need you to come to my house." She gave him the address then hung up. It was short. If the police looked through her calls, it wouldn't give them much to go off.
Dressed as Vigilante, Adrian rhymically knocked on her back door after trying to look through the window next to it. Y/N immediately let him in, despite not putting together that he was Vigilante until this very moment, and dragged him by the hand to what she had done.
"Clean shot through the head. You're a natural," he complimented. By the stunned look on his face, that wasn't the right thing to say. "Not the time? Sorry."
"The neighbours won't call the police. Tony used to shoot in the back garden and they have a tendency to look the other way," she informed him, a little venom in her voice.
"Good to know."
Vigilante knelt and inspected the body, trying to determine who the hell this guy was. "Was this Leo Carter?" She nodded. Hell yeah. Two of his old bullies had been murdered in two days. He couldn't help but do a happy little dance, only stopping when she looked at him curiously. "What? He was a cunt too."
"Why'd you think I shot him?" She joked nervously. It was weird. She found her own joke so funny that she began cackling. Like a mad woman. Well, she had just killed someone, so yeah, she was a mad woman.
After a quick call to Harcourt and coming up with the fake story that he'd murdered a butterfly and that the body needed to be moved before the woman who lived there got home, Vigilante ushered the still underdressed Y/N to the Vigilante-mobile and drove to the safety of his apartment.
She was shaking. "I'm not... I'm not really a murderer. I'm just... a girl who had to do something."
Slipping his mask off and kneeling before her as she sat on his couch, he reasoned with her, "I know you don't want to hear it, but you are a murderer. So am I. A lot of people are. Most of my friends are." She looked like she was going to start crying, shit, that's not what he had intended to do. "What I'm trying to say is, you're not the only one, okay? I'm so much worse than you. Don't mean to brag, but my kill count is pretty high."
Bizarrely, that did make her feel better. She was sick to her stomach but she felt better. She was even more eased when he gave her some fresh clothes to change into. They would be burning her prior ones just in case there were any blood splatters on it.
Every time she closed her eyes she thought she'd see Leo. She didn't. She didn't really care. He was an asshole. After the initial shock of 'oh shit, I've just killed someone' settled down, she was eerily calm. Calmer than she had been in years.
Those guys had no chance at bullying anyone ever again.
"I never asked you why you were in the ER."
"My boss thought I had a concussion. I did not," he explained as he rifled through his freezer for something to heat up. "You like pizza rolls? Who am I kidding? Everyone loves pizza rolls."
Y/N watched as he rambled on and on as he prepared their food. It was as if this were a normal day for him. She sat up on the counter, staring at him as he made their food, and wondered how a person could be entirely normal, yet completely insane.
He waved his arms and gestured as he spoke. Then he made this face. This face she had noticed he used to do when he was younger. If anyone asked him a question, he would look upwards as if he was searching within his own brain for the answer.
This face was what forced her to blurt out, "I'm sorry I didn't do more when we were young. About Tony and, uh, Leo."
Halting what he had been ranting about, he looked at her, his eyes were a little glassy, but he was completely focused on her. A slow smile curved his lips. "You're the only one who did anything, so that makes you better than the rest. Like, by default or some shit."
That couldn't have been true. Surely someone else would've helped the poor boy out.
Hopping off the counter, she stood in front of him and debated what her next move would be. It came to her easily. She reached up, bringing her hand to the back of his neck to pull him down to her face level and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. It was slow and soft, and said everything she needed to tell him.
Weirdly, Adrian felt the need to hug her. He didn't hug people. That's not a thing that he really knew how to go about doing. He gave into the impulse and uncertainty by wrapping his arm around her. That's how it's usually done, right? To help him out, she hugged him back almost as if she were demonstrating how to do it.
Vigilante's padding was a bit uncomfortable to hug, but as soon as he unstiffened, she felt him reciprocate and the warmth of his body overtook her senses. Y/N melted against him, sighing contentedly.
After a moment, he spoke, "I think I may have burnt the pizza rolls."