Chapter 2
Did I Just Hook Up with a Hero?
[WARNING: SPG]
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Ivan Ross was bored, and it was maddening.
No matter how many ventures he juggled, from his private business to the endless list of side hustles he picked up after working hours, the heaviness in his body never left him.
Lately, it has grown worse.
His body craved something, though he couldn't quite name what. Maybe it was because his work had become too routine and too dull to the point that every day felt the same. Every night ended in the same emptiness. What he wanted was excitement, something to break through the monotony, but he had no idea where to find it.
He tried changing his side hustles, do gambling and participate in underground fights (where he always won), but none of them could relieve the boredom he was experiencing.
He didn't know what to do anymore.
Until he decided to work as a part-time barista at a gay bar hidden in the heart of Metro City where the nightlife was noisy, chaotic, and short-lived; perfect for someone like him who was just looking for a way to pass the time and relieve boredom. There, he began experimenting with one-night stands. Sometimes with women, sometimes with men, as long as they could keep the heaviness within him at bay, even for a moment. The first few times he did it, it was okay and he felt excited again. But as he followed through with the routine, the boredom slowly began to return.
Something was really missing.
Until one night, something happened.
While tending the counter at the gay bar where he worked part-time, Ivan's eyes landed on a young man drinking in the far corner alone. He's quite handsome, has a pair of deep blue eyes and choco-colored well-styled hair that matches well with his fair complexion, flushed lightly by the after effects of alcohol. The guy had already downed four bottles, and judging by the way his hand reached automatically for the next bottle, he knew right away he has no plan on stopping anytime soon.
Ivan sighed in disappointment. There was nothing extraordinary about customers drowning themselves in liquor because it happened all the time. Realizing that now, he almost regretted wasting his attention on the guy at all. It was also a sign for him that he should quit this bar gig altogether. The monotony of doing it every night was eating him again, so maybe it was time to finally find a new thrill, a new hobby. Perhaps, something that could actually stirred his thirst for doing something evil.
Like conquering the entire Galahad City.
Ivan has been planning to do that for a long...long time now. But every time he tries, it was always followed by the same tired excuses: Tsk. More effort again? Fine, I'll just do it later.
And that later never came.
It wasn't as if anything was stopping him. Actually, there's nothing wrong with him. He was smart, really smart that he was often called a strategist by his colleagues. And above all, he was strong and powerful; powerful enough that money wasn't the only thing in his arsenal. He had everything he needed to take a whole city for himself. What he really lacks is motivation, and that thing was often consumed by laziness and boredom as if they were chains that always bind him.
But he couldn't let it go on like this. He had to act or else, he will rot from within.
So Ivan decided to set down the bottles of wine he'd been polishing for a while now and remove the apron tied around his waist. He didn't even bother to say goodbye to the bar owner. He simply stepped out from behind the counter and was ready to leave.
That's when the man at the far end of the bar caught his attention again.
"W--what the..." the guy suddenly stood up. He lurched to his feet, patting down his pockets with clumsy, frantic hands and repeatedly fumbled his pocket to find his wallet.
"Where is...my wallet?" he muttered to himself. His wallet was right there on the table, but he was too drunk to notice it and instead, he kept moving around while his body swayed clumsily from side to side.
Then, out of sheer frustration, he slammed his fist against the table.
CRACK!
"Ooops..." The table wood split into half. The man blinked at it for about a minute, then he bent down to pick up the table's other half laying on the floor along with the bottles of booze. Then, the guy pressed the halves together using his palm. It glowed faintly as frost spread across the wood.
Ice.
The drunk was using ice.
Ivan's eyes narrowed with amusement upon witnessing it, and his boredom instantly evaporates. For so many months that had passed and promised nothing but monotony to his dull and monochromatic life, this little scene at the bar had captured his interest, as if he just found a new toy to play with. After that, he decided to approach the man while his villainous smirk was trying to escape him as he wondered how much fun this night could turn out to be.
Ivan slowly approached the guy and picked up the wallet that had fallen from the floor due to the table breaking earlier. Then, he held the wallet up between his two fingers and said, "Is this what you're looking for?"
The man turned to him with unfocused eyes. He was too drunk to even recognize who Ivan was, and that's good. That means the stranger wouldn't remember Ivan's face. And if there was one thing Ivan valued more than power, it was anonymity.
But before he could toss the wallet back, the air shifted. Not metaphorically, but literally. Ivan felt a sudden gust of wind spiraling around him, as if the wind itself had identified him as a villain.
"Hey, why do you have my wallet?"
Ivan's villainous smirk didn't falter. Fortunately enough, he'd seen far too many sloppy displays of power that meant to intimidate him, and this one was no different. But what truly caught his attention wasn't the show of power itself, but the man behind it.
"Whose hero or villain could possibly wield not just one element, but more?" This question buzzed in his mind as he studied the stranger more closely. The longer he stared at him, the clearer the details became. Flushed cheeks, that steaming sweat tracing down in uneven paths across his chest, those clumsy movements that clearly shows how drunk he was, and those dark stains of alcohol soaking dangerously close to his crotch.
He looked pitiful, messy and pathetic. But still, this stranger was worth to watch.
Now, as for the question of whether this person is a hero or a villain, there was only one way to find out.
"Okay, relax..."
Ivan approached slowly and took the stranger's hand. The moment his fingers made contact, the wind automatically stopped, which surprised the drunk guy. Unfortunately, he was too intoxicated to fully register what had just happened or to realize that his control over his power had just slipped the moment the stranger, still wearing a barista uniform, touched him.
"I'm not interested in your wallet. Afterall, I have more money than I could ever spend. But..." Ivan leaned closer until the stranger stumbled back and his spine pressed against the wall.
"...what really interests me is you."
The man blinked to process what he just heard from the barista-looking man. Due to the lack of focus caused by his intoxication, his whole thought was circling around the barista trying to tease him for a one-night stand, which was far from what Ivan wanted to imply. But the stranger didn't mind if that's the case, because with the amount of alcohol he had consumed, he had been wanting to let go of the heat burning through his body for a while now.
So instead of backing away from the barista's apparent "interest", the man began unbuttoning his shirt one at a time and slowly unbuckled his belt and asked, "I don't have a condom with me, so...what are you going to do? Still want to do it with me?" he asked, his words were slurred but daring, and it perfectly matched his blushing, embarrassed-looking face.
Ivan was shocked by the sudden turn of events. What he really wanted to do was confront the man, to test his strength and perhaps provoke a fight to see whether he's a hero or a villain. But it seemed like this drunk stranger wasn't picking up on what he wanted to convey and instead, he wanted to hook up with him.
Ivan's lips curved upward. This wasn't what he had planned, but the stranger's audacity, combined with his vulnerability made it more interesting to the point that even if he wasn't in the mood for sex, suddenly, he was very much willing to indulge in it.
So without further fuss, Ivan's hands moved deliberately towards the man and unbuckled his belt. Then, he slid down his pants slightly enough to gaze upon the man's member straining against the thin fabric of its underpants.
"You're hard..." Ivan murmured. He took the stranger's hand and carefully guided it between Ivan's thighs, where his rod had already stirred in response to the lustful heat radiating from the other.
"Want to make it even harder?" Ivan asked as if he was challenging the man. The stranger, in return, swallowed deep with anticipation and instead of answering the question, he asked:
"D-do you want me...with my mouth? Or...down there...?"
Ivan chuckled softly at the question. Somehow, this bold, reckless stranger had the audacity to ask which part of his body would bring him pleasure, and that alone made the moment more thrilling and interesting.
"Do as you wish," he said mischievously, "Show me what you've got."
Upon hearing that, the drunk stranger immediately knelt down and slowly unbuckled Ivan's belt. Then he carefully took Ivan's hard load and started to wet it with his saliva. Ivan's breathing deepened after the stranger's warm tongue touched the tip of his rod. He became even more aroused when the man started sucking it like a lollipop. This wasn't the first time anyone had performed such an act on Ivan, yet there was something undeniably different about this stranger than anyone he had encountered before.
But then, Ivan's thoughts were soon interrupted as the man attempted to take things further by pushing his mouth deeper until Ivan's rod nearly touched the stranger's throat. Ivan was shocked and immediately clung to the young man's hair. Moments later, he felt the man's pace quicken, accompanied by the teasing play of his tongue exploring every inch of Ivan's length, from its tip down to the shaft.
The stimulation made by the guy was overwhelming, to the point that Ivan couldn't hold it anymore and erupted prematurely, filling the man's mouth with his warm seeds. But what stunned Ivan even more was the way the man swallowed it, a bold act that only intensified Ivan's arousal.
So without a word, he lifted the intoxicated stranger and laid him across the table. He quickly stripped him bare and slowly guided his own hardened shaft inside. From there, he started moving slow, then gradually picked up speed, until he plowed the man with increasing force. The stranger moaned oddly beneath him, but Ivan no longer cared. His focus was to mark the guy with his essence. He continued relentlessly, riding the waves of their shared heat until he reached his climax once more. This time, he spilled it deep inside the stranger.
After that satisfying release, Ivan slowly withdrew himself and tried to catch his breath. After allowing himself a few seconds of rest, Ivan's eyes drifted to the stranger sprawled across the table. He was obviously exhausted and intoxicated. No wonder why he had apparently passed out in the middle of their sex and now sleeping peacefully as if none of it had happened.
Well, Ivan didn't care and just let the stranger sleep. But he took the opportunity to peek into the stranger's wallet. Inside were a few bills and several cards that finally revealed his identity.
"Adrian Garland."
That was the name written on his national identification card.
Curious, Ivan checked the other cards and pulled out a familiar one, a card that only issued to people who were given the privilege of being called "heroes."
That's when Ivan finally realized he just hooked up with a Hero. And not just any hero, but a rising one, currently ranked 100th in the Hero Rankings and had recently been making a noise after taking down some of the city's most famous and veteran villains.
"Arondight..." Ivan whispered the hero's name, letting it roll off his tongue with malicious delight.
Because after months of enduring the suffocating boredom and dull monotony...
Ivan Ross, also known as "Red Hilt", the city's rank no. 2 villain, had finally found the thrill he'd been craving for.