i know you, you know me

by luvrxhan

Summary:

"Your villainous cruelty is still so alluring to me, despite how many times you've hurt me." Choi Han whispered to his villain — as beautiful and rare as can be.

 

"You know what that's called, Hero?" Cale laughed, throwing his head back. He bent forward, wiping away the fake tear in his eyes. "That's you being unable to differentiate between the sublime and the depths of hell."

 

"Do you know what else it can be called?" Choi Han asked once more, gazing at Cale Henituse rather than the moonlight. "It's called the illusion of love."

or;

ogchch villain/hero au except Choi Han is absolutely whipped for Cale Henituse

Notes:

Anyways it's a bit late but Happy New Year!!!

"Your villainous cruelty is still so alluring to me, despite how many times you've hurt me." Choi Han whispered to his villain — as beautiful and rare as can be.

 

"You know what that's called, Hero?" Cale laughed, throwing his head back. He bent forward, wiping away the fake tear in his eyes. "That's you being unable to differentiate between the sublime and the depths of hell."

 

"Do you know what else it can be called?" Choi Han asked once more, gazing at Cale Henituse rather than the moonlight. "It's called the illusion of love."

 

Cale stilled to the point where even his breathing stopped in that fraction of time. He turned his head to meet Choi Han's, eyes widened, and something breathless on his lips.

 

Indeed, this is an illusion Choi Han thought to himself when reddened lips parted — like the sweet gateway of hell and its wonders.

 

He felt himself lean in, feel the warm breath of Cale Henituse against his lips before dipping below the surface for more — below what society lets him be.

 

Cale didn't quite melt against his lips, he did the opposite.

 

Cale Henituse froze, caught entirely off guard.

 

Yet he hadn't yet pushed the Hero away.

 

A peck would be its definition but every effect of a kiss was there when Cale Henituse's pale cheeks lit a gentle baby pink in the moonlight.

 

"It can also be called the villain's conquest." Choi Han finished, letting the wind take away the sound of his laughter as Cale Henituse's eyebrows creased in frustration.

 

---

 

 

The Cronos wall clock chimed upon midnight over the chaos yet all the Hero could hear was the sound of Cale Henituse's breathing.

 

Feel his erratic heartbeat calm in the raging storm around them.

 

It was only times like this when Cale Henituse's smile turns manic. Cale Henituse pinned him down, thick arms caging his head, and the cause?

 

The Hero's stupidity.

 

Or rather, hedonism.

 

"It seems you've lost this round, Hero." Cale Henituse commented, eyes raising for a moment to meet the circle of fire around them. "Nowhere to escape now?"

 

He was teasing but he could feel the Villain's sincerity through it all.

 

Through the hard chest and its rhymatic delight.

 

"And it appears you've trapped us." Choi Han opted for, watching Cale's crazed smile brighten as the flames got bigger.

 

And the smell of smoke permeated.

 

Along with that violent tinge of jasmine anchoring the sinks of his ship.

 

"Terribly wrong, Hero." Cale Henituse bit back. "I have a way out. You don't."

 

And the town was burning beneath them. To the edges of plaza to the inside of Choi Han's heart, heat surrounded them in a fiery blaze of Cale Henituse's desire for destruction. Alas, there was nothing Choi Han could do.

 

At least to what the Villain believes.

 

Choi Han raised his hand for the last time, and in a moment of Cale Henituse's pity, he let the Hero touch him once more.

 

Just one more time, he told himself.

 

A calloused palm, a teenager, and a bastard. One more time couldn't hurt, he thought.

 

And despite all these years, nothing was as cold as Cale Henituse's indfifference to the Hero's unwavering warmth.

 

Not ever since that night at the bar.

 

'But one more time could hurt,' reality told him as Choi Han snapped his fingers.

 

In an instant, the fire around them subsided. Fading into nothing but ashes and smoke before a loud bang from below caused Cale's eyes to rise away from Choi Han's.

 

Cale turned to see what had happened, but the Hero kept him there but forcing his collar down.

 

"You're right." Choi Han spoke. "You have a way out, I don't."

 

Cale hissed, "You planned this, didn't you?"

 

"Hard not to when you're so predictable." The Hero grinned, yanking Cale forward and pinning him against the floor. "It's foreseeable even to an idiot."

 

This time, it was the Hero's cadres' that scored victory.

 

---

 

 

 

A bar of scandalous nights and roaming individuals.

 

Just one incident of self-gratification, Choi Han told himself.

 

One night of being Choi Han, not the Hero.

 

Disguised and hooded, Choi Han wandered into a place he shouldn't have. It wasn't typical and rather uncalled for, but something pushed him forward when he pushed the door open.

 

See, not anyone could enter.

 

A special enchantment of sorts — something that qualifies a person to enter — or a test of worthiness. Upon inspection, Choi Han had deduced it was for safekeeping: to keep its patrons safer from the outside struggles and problematics.

 

But that wasn't what called him here, and Choi Han was a good listener.

 

There was something enticing, darker leading him here from the entrance of the catacombs. To the chants beaming off the metallic walls, from the edge of the stage, to the centre of Choi Han's view.

 

To his demise, he took a seat in the furthermost corner of the bar. He swears there was something calling for him here, but where he looked, there was nothing entrancing to him. It's a wavering feeling, something that calls him out before standing him up when the time comes.

 

Out of the ordinary, a glass of fine wine was slid to him by the bartender.

 

"A gift from the gentleman over the counter." He was told.

 

It wasn't the first time Choi Han had been offered a drink, but in a roundabout way, he felt anticipation building in his chest. Be it the shaking lights or the cries of the pleasured, Choi Han accepted the drink with uneasy excitement.

 

He glanced towards the other side and from there, he fell down a slippery slide of coincidences.

 

He had expected a stranger, someone from out of town, or rather anyone that didn't have russet-hue aching in their irises.

 

It couldn't be him, Choi Han told himself, but russet-hue was hard to come by — especially such the shade he bore.

 

"Good evening," the man mouthed to him, lifting his own glass. "A toast?"

 

Entranced, Choi Han lifted his own glass of fine wine, meeting the toast in an awkward attempt of being kind. And the man drenched in russet-hue laughed.

 

Tilting his head back, revealing porcelain-coloured skin on his neck.

 

He knew all too well what kind of neck he'd been choking days prior.

 

Choi Han felt a smile come easily to his lips, watching the man's reaction as he took the first sip between them.

 

What he hadn't expected was for the man to blow him a sugary kiss across the bar.

 

It had caused him to choke in surprise, feeling it down the wrong pipe in his throat. It made him feel very ounce of burning pain it promised him.

 

Coughing to his side, Choi Han lost sight of the man in an instant, disappointed he'd chased the alluring figure away.

 

He raised his glass again in an attempt to override his coughing fit, but when gloved hands gently pushed the wine glass away from him, he felt his heart skip.

 

Just once.

 

"You'll make it worse like that, love." The man whispered to him, something sly on his tongue when he stroked Choi Han's back — feeling through the dips and rises of his spine.

 

Choi Han's cough calmed, disappeared as if it had never been there, and Choi Han thought a wicked touch indeed.

 

An amused grin, dark brown hair, and russet-hue — that's what the man wore, but Choi Han could feel the magic perfusing through the merriment.

 

Choi Han gave a weak, lop-sided smile that gave nothing about his erratic heartbeat, before offering a seat to the stranger — the man who calls him here.

 

"Thank you." He offers with a polite gesture, sliding back his own glass from gloved hands. "You saved me there."

 

It was a stretch, a temporary benevolence, but Choi Han's attention was on the way russet-hue zoomed in on his before breaking free a once-in-a-lifetime kind smile; the type of smile that appears once every four years.

 

"No problem," The man muttered. "What's the reason for someone as enticing as you coming into this sort of place?"

 

Choi Han's smile faded into something whimsical and foolish — futile and reluctant, "Someone called me here."

 

A half-truth, a half-feeling. "I'm here to feed the yearning of its call."

 

For a moment, he saw the flicker of shock and disbelief in the man's eyes, but he didn't say anything more when the man tilted his head and whispered, "That sounds pretty romantic. Am I interrupting? I'd hate it if I were."

 

And to anyone else, it would've been kind or even thoughtful to not ruin a special night, but to Choi Han, it was the sarcasm of someone acerbic — a special someone who wouldn't quite leave his nights alone.

 

"You're right on time, actually," Choi Han chuckled. "I was waiting for you."

 

Too truthful, too much of a lie. Yet Choi Han swore it was him.

 

The man's eyes shook before looking away hurriedly to see if anyone was watching them. And when his suspicions were confirmed, he leaned towards Choi Han with a flirtacious wink.

 

"It's nice to see you again, sweetheart." God these pet names were getting to him. He needs to stop with this.

 

"Stop it." Choi Han frowned, disobeying the words his heart really wanted to say.

 

"Don't like it?" Cale grinned. "It suits you well, though. Better than that hero nonsense."

 

Choi Han gave a terribly long sigh, feeling his shoulders relax instantly. "You're horrible, Cale."

 

"Y'know you love it." Cale Henituse, his opponenet and the Villain of Roan, grinned before offering his bare hand.

 

the Hero felt himself sigh for the second time — shorter than the first, "Do I?", before taking Cale's hand in his and offering a kiss on the back of his palm.

 

Just as a knight would to his liege.

 

 

---

 

 

Cale doesn't yield and Choi Han has no choice but to convince him.

 

He's not who everyone thinks he is, Choi Han tries.

 

Don't be fooled by his acts, Hero. We know all too well the skillful liar he can be. The others tell him.

 

He has not gone down this route, he has never attempted this.

 

Partially out of fear but for the impending truth that he cannot win against Cale Henituse.

 

Cale Henituse was inevitable and he was insane, but Choi Han saw something humane there; something along the lines of delicious indulgence. He saw the truth behind those cold eyes, felt reality tell him in morse code along with his jumping pulse, he knew there was more to this than his villainous streak.

 

Amongst the crazed laughter and the desire for revenge against the world, Choi Han saw something — dare he say — lovable in Cale Henituse.

 

Be it the glint of relief in his eyes whenever things go to his plan or the tint in his happiness when he finally succumbs to the allure of alcoholism, Choi Han chose Cale Henituse.

 

And he'd never tell him that.

 

Instead, he meets Cale Henituse in his quarters where the finest of ruby and obsidian lay in its decorated decor.

 

He barges through the balcony door unceremoniously, interrupting Cale's meeting with his partners. He spares one glare at them before Cale dismisses them easily with the brush of his hand.

 

And when door shut quietly by them, Cale speaks, "Not even a hello?"

 

See, Cale Henituse would laugh. He would grin and tease before approaching Choi Han.

 

But he doesn't. He stays seated in his chair, fingers crossed over the paperwork as his eyes remain on Choi Han's glare.

 

So he lets the glare go and return to what Cale knows.

 

"Cale." Choi Han whispers.

 

An invitation, a treaty, or a plea.

 

He thinks its too easy when Cale finally breaks into his teasing smile. Too easy for his heart to capacitate.

 

"Choi Han." Cale begins, beckoning him over with the call of his finger.

 

Like a dog, Choi Han follows.

 

And like the man Cale despises, Choi Han begins. "We need to talk."

 

"About?"

 

"The war."

 

"You sound mad." Cale says, chin in hand.

 

Choi Han stands beside him, meeting him head on. "Why do you think so?"

 

"Because you came through the window."

 

"I've come through your windows many times."

 

"This time, you didn't knock." Cale teased, reaching for Choi Han's hand.

 

But Choi Han kept his hand at bay by his side. "I won't knock again."

 

Cale's eyes widened for a moment before thinning into something sinister. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"

 

"Is it?" Choi Han whispered.

 

And the duty was heavy and overbearing, but there was no one else to call upon.

 

Any more heroes and the world might go mad. Any more villains and society will demand more. Any more lies and Choi Han might spur.

 

Cale stayed silent for a moment, eyes lowering from Choi Han's to return to his map. He brushed a hand over the Roan kingdom, feeling Choi Han's stare bore into the side of his face.

 

"Really, you won't?"

 

"You're not very convincing." Cale offered.

 

"I was trying." Choi Han took.

 

Cale Henituse laughed just under his breath, his hand stopping over the centre of the Roan kingdom.

 

"I'm going to blow this kingdom up." Cale stated.

 

"I know." Choi Han tried.

 

"Are you here to convince me not to?" The Villain asked. "If so, you're not doing a very good job."

 

"I want to take this away from you." The Hero answered, too much hope in his chest. "And hope to drive you away."

 

Cale paused for a moment, his index finger tracing over the kingdom. "Only if you come with me."

 

"I can't." Choi Han whispered back, knowing all too well how disappointed Cale must've been in him. "There's too much."

 

---

 

Bated breath against his and an arm wrapped around his waist, Choi Han can feel his excitement through the glimmer in his eyes.

 

He wants to reciprocate the passion in those russet-hue and how much it calls for him.

 

But he can't.

 

He pushes the firm chest away from him, but Cale Henituse keeps him there. He keeps him locked and reveals him to society.

 

He looks away from the audience, turning his head towards the darkness, and this time Cale doesn't stop him.

 

He can't see, can't hide, and all he wants to do is go home.

 

But then Cale's hand grasps the back of his head, pushing it forward until Choi Han's cheek meets Cale's shoulder.

 

And then, Cale Henituse — the Villain of Roan — announces, "I will ceasefire if you give me your beloved and last hero."

 

Which promptly causes dismay to the citizens below them, earning disagreement from the Royal family.

 

But Cale's eyes meet the Crown Prince's and something sparks in him when he rises his middle finger to the crowd.

 

A smug grin and a tantalising prank when fireworks go off instead.

 

An agreement has been made and Choi Han is Cale Henituse's prize at the exchange of Alberu Crossman's confirmed coronation.

 

---

 

 

"All you want is him?" Alberu scoffs in disbelief, massaging his temples in frustration.

 

It is the dead of night and Roan's Villain has come breaking his window glass, demanding gold and money from him.

 

Along with the Hero as barter.

 

"Him and a manor where one cannot answer without my permission." Cale grins, his legs crossed over the Prince's desk.

 

"Is that all?" He sighs, creasing his eyebrows in confusion. "Were you not at each other's throats the other day—,"

 

"Night." Cale corrects. "He was actually latching onto him for your information."

 

"Great. I don't want to know." Alberu interrupts. "So just that? And you will ceasefire?"

 

"Maybe." Cale thinks. "And a surprise for my sweetheart."

 

Alberu physically cringed at the name, holding back his frustration before nodding his head in pathetic reluctance. "As long as it's not the kingdom's dowry."

 

"Maybe."

 

Alberu Crossman was crowned Crown Prince the following week.

 

---

 

 

Cale lifted Choi Han's face, seeing the reluctant flush on his cheeks.

 

"What's wrong, love?" Cale teased, watching Choi Han's frustration bubble under the surface. "Are you mad?"

 

"Why on earth would you do that?" Choi Han sighed, leaning into Cale's palm for the first time. "I knew you were an idiot but—,"

 

"Your idiot." Cale corrected, earning him a gentle punch from the raven.

 

"You're dumb for doing that."

 

"Doing what?" Cale feigned ignorance, caressing Choi Han's cheek with a lover's tenderness.

 

"You planned this, didn't you?" Choi Han said. "You probably didn't even have bombs in the catacombs."

 

"How'd you know?" Cale easily confided. "I thought I was pretty convincing."

 

"I hate you." Choi Han muttered under his breath lovingly. "You need to stop doing this crazy shit."

 

"Maybe."

Notes:

They're so silly, I love them. Did we like Cale's prank? I'm so sad they didn't kiss, sighhhhh