Chapter Text
"Any last words?"
The burly man cowered before you at the other end of the barrel with his hands up. He tried to make himself as small as possible, with his bloody hands in front of his face, but they did little to cover the damage you did. His left eyes had started to swell up as well as his lips. His skin was smeared all over with blood and purple bruises. From the look of it, his crooked nose was broken, causing more blood to drip down his chin, onto his dirt-stained shirt.
The massive, once intimidating man, who towered over your smaller frame, thinking he could easily take you out, now kneeling on his knees, begging for his life. His body shook hard with each heave of his chest; snots and tears flowed freely down his face, mixing with blood and grime, pouring into his gaping mouth.
Your eyes hardened, disgusted with the scene before you. He and his friend, who wasn't too far away, were a part of an illegal drug trade organization in Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately for them, you and your vigilante friend caught them before they could make their final trip of the night.
"Tell me before I blow your brains out. Don't think for one moment I wouldn't do it."
"Please, I don't know where, or … or who the supplier is, I swear. I just pick the good up from the drop-off location, and it's different every time."
You could feel yourself getting frustrated the more he talked without giving you any helpful information. Without any hesitation, you pointed the gun down, aiming it right over his crotch, which was wet with urine. You grimaced, your nose scrunched in disgust as the man let out a startled scream at your new change in movement. Even behind the mask that concealed your identity, you could smell it. His fear, and the rampant smell of his piss.
"You will have to try harder than that."
You cocked the gun, swiftly shifting your aim at the ground beside him in just a quick blink of an eye before firing it. The deafening sound rang out in the vacant room, and he screamed, jolting out of his crouching position. He let out a loud cry, his body racked with each hard sob, the relentless begs for his life kept nagging at your ears.
"I think that's enough."
That deep familiar voice calmly slipped into your earshot before you even heard him entering the room. The smoothness of his voice was something that you liked. But, unfortunately, you couldn't say the same for … almost everything else about him, especially in moments like this.
"Oh, come on. Don't be such a buzzkill."
You let out an annoyed sigh as you turned towards the door. The cocky bastard leaned against the frame, crossing his arms, making his muscular frame look even larger. The moonlight outside this abandoned warehouse shone down on his concealed face. The black mask obscured most of his features, saved for the bottom half of his face. You found yourself staring at those plump lips way too often for a casual relationship between you. You weren't even friends. Your paths crossed from time to time until you decided to team up for two nights out of seven of the week. The more you spent time together, the more you noticed certain things about him. The way he moved silently between shadows, the way he seemed to know what was going to happen better than you, even with his eyes covered. You also noticed his rather impressive, lean frame with an impeccable athleticism, the way his black attire hugged his curves to perfection, the way his lips looked so damn irresistible—
"He's scared out of his mind. That's a bit overkill, don't you think?"
You huffed out a humourless laugh.
"Spare me that talk. He deserves every bit of it."
Still, you retracted your gun. The man whimpered at the sight.
"Thankyou thankyou sir. I swear I will do better—"
"Shut up."
With a quick and precise movement, you rammed the butt of your gun to the man's temple hard, knocking him out cold. Your only audience pushed himself off of the door frame then, walking towards you.
"As I said, overkill."
You shrugged.
"I don't care. He talked too damn much."
You crouched down to bind the man with zip ties. They should be enough for the moment until the cops came. You stood up, feeling the other conscious presence looming so close. You swallowed, crossing your arms, feeling just a touch nervous.
"How's the other guy? Did he give out anything?"
You felt the need to speak up to distract yourself. You didn't know why this nervousness surfaced in the presence of someone you knew. The way he walked towards you was casually, yet, you couldn't help but feel like he was the predator, looking for his next prey. And that prey was you.
"All done. And yes. It's solid enough for us to follow up on that tomorrow night."
You dusted your clothes, pulling your burner phone out to look at the time.
"Good. I guess our job here is done?"
He flashed you a smile.
"You're just dying to not spend another second with me, huh?"
You reciprocated with a sarcastic remark of your own.
"Not everything is about you, asshole."
You walked to the side of the building; your shadows merged, then parted with each step you took.
"The cops should be here any minutes."
He spoke, and his voice did that thing again, where it made you feel a slight shiver running down your spine. You chased that feeling away before it could blossom into something else.
"Perfect timing. The sun's almost up."
The silence sprawled on the air between you as you made your way towards your usual depart point. This absence of sound wasn't something new, nor was it the signal of a tensed companionship. You two had been doing this for a while now, and you found yourself enjoying his company, maybe more than you thought.
You didn't even know his name, and he didn't know yours. It was better that way. There was no need for unnecessary insights and pleasantries. The less you knew, the better.
This rooftop was spacious and where you first met. It continued to be the place where you met up at night and parted before dawn. It was also where you tried different nicknames for him.
"See you next week, Shadow … Man? … No?"
You winced; the drawn-out "no" died to a mere whisper in your throat as he shook his head at the ridiculous nickname of the night. But the slight smile that adorned his face didn't escape your observant eyes, and a glimmer of pride sparked at your chest. Your mysterious vigilante friend, ever so serious, smiled at the terrible, uninspired nickname you gave him.
"See you, Tough Skin."
"That's definitely worse than Shadow Man."
You called out after him; his chuckle flowed smoothly into your ears as he disappeared onto the fire escape. The deep and rich consonants made you blush. Just a little.
He wasn't wrong about the nickname. You could handle a beating better than a regular human being. You often left a bar fight without a scratch on you. That resulted from an experimental enhanced serum along with your combat skills from the days you were trained to be a SHIELD field agent. But that path didn't work out, and now, here you were, nearly twenty-four hours later, heading to your usual rendezvous.
Something was different tonight. The air around him felt. He seemed quiet, more than usual, moving around with deadly silence. He didn't tell you much about what he got out of the other guy from last night, and you found that worrisome. What had gotten into him?
He led you to a quiet street, motioning you to stay against the shadows of the alley. You took a peek at the scene ahead. An ordinary, nondescript restaurant, lights dimmed with the sign said "closed". But it seemed open to another activity.
From your vantage point, you could see what was going on. At least four people were filtering in and out at the back door, coming out with big bags and throwing them into the open trunk of the van. Two of them were on the lookout.
You pulled your hood firmly in place before whispering.
"What's the plan?"
He replied immediately, almost as if he had thought about this a million times over.
"I'll go in. You stay put."
You couldn't believe what you were hearing.
"Why? We go in together. That's how it goes."
He didn't even turn around to face you when he spoke once more.
"Not tonight. Stay here and call the cops on my signal."
He left without any further explanation. You hissed after him.
"What's the signal?"
You watched as he crept up to the van, swiftly taking out the guards without breaking a sweat before disappearing into the restaurant. You scoffed. Was he doing this just to show off? Fuck him if he really thought you would stay here on his command.
You followed his path, and just as you passed the door, the sound of shouts and gunshots rang out. You quickened your feet to see your friend, juggling between more than four guys now, some with only their fists, some with weapons.
You threw yourself into the fight, taking a few of them out on your own. But, even amid the chaos, your masked partner still found the time to question you being here despite his stern request.
"What are you doing here?"
He angled his body towards you, breathing hard. His full lips parted to take in gulfs of air. You delivered a swift kick to the face of an attacker coming at you from the side, effectively knocking him back several feet.
"I'm helping you! You obviously need it."
In two large strikes, he was before you. He yanked you close to him by your arm, so close that you could see the blood on his lips and his hot breath on your face.
"I told you to stay out. I don't need help."
"You clearly do, at your state."
You got into his face, not bothering to hold back. He had never looked this angry before. Especially not at you. But you didn't have time to get into it when your eyes caught a movement from the corner of your eyes.
Everything happened too fast, too quick in too little time. You pushed him out of the way, blocking a flash of something shiny from one of the other guys. It cost you a dull pain to register that it was a dagger; its sharp edge tore through your suit, embedding a red line in your forearm. You didn't have time to process that ache as you were pulled back by force towards the exit. You dug your feet onto the ground, trying to stay grounded against the brutal strength, but his voice reached out to you.
"We need to go, now! The cops are here."
Your ears strained to listen for the sirens to admit the chaos. He was right. The police were at the door, just pulling up now. Your feet acted before your mind could catch up, carrying you back out the way you came just as the cops busted in. You kept running, too scared to look back, to get caught. You didn't stop until you reached your meet-up point, with sweat beads down your face and chest, both of you heaving hard.
You pulled your mask up to your nose, letting yourself breathe easier. You didn't notice how you were mirroring your mysterious companion at this moment when a lot had happened in a matter of minutes.
Deep breath in, deep breath out , you told yourself, trying to calm the frantic beat of your heart, coming down after the narrow escape. Your mind swirled around the possibilities of what could have happened, too lost in your own head to notice how your partner-in-crime had become extremely angry. The anger radiated from him was burning in the balmy summer heat.
"What did I tell you? If you had stayed there, this wouldn't have happened. You sabotaged the mission."
You whirled around to face him; a shocked gasp bubbled up to your throat, getting out of your physical grasp.
"Me? You were the one who insisted didn't need help when you clearly did."
And him, still with the audacity to be angry with you, retorting with even more heat.
"If you didn't come after me, you wouldn't get hurt."
Your voice raised, no longer muffled by the mask, causing your frustration to project more. To Hell with anybody who might be listening. The way he treated you right now made you grit your teeth.
"I can bear a tiny scratch Shadow Man. I'm not fragile."
His hands came to grasp your shoulders, shaking you firmly.
"You're the most stubborn person I've ever met."
You tilted your face up to look at his masked face with said attribute.
"I can say the same about you."
At this point, you screamed at each other, getting into each other's faces until your noses touched. So close that you drank in each other's air. You could feel the strain of the tension deep in your bones, your muscles locked up. It could snap in two at any given moment. At this moment, when both of you were blinded with rage and pent-up frustration, it could lead to a fight.
A bruising kiss wasn't what you expected. You didn't know who made a move first, but your lips met. Ravenous, quick, dominating, pure of bites and the sweet taste of blood, sweat, and cinnamon.
"God, you're so frustrating."
You said between breaths, feeling your lips getting swollen from the rough pulls on your flesh into his mouth.
"Don't say his name in vain like that."
He replied with just as much, if not more fervour.
"Don't tell me you're a fucking Catholic?"
Your eyes widened under the mask; your darkened lens saw nothing but a stubborn curve of his lips. The same curves that you had sneaked a glance at. Occasionally, of course.
"Shut up and kiss me."
You resumed the fiery kiss, happily consumed by the fire and frustration from the mission tonight. You were almost caught. The adrenaline pumped in your blood, but now for a different reason. The fact that you were kissing him, someone you didn't know that well, not even his name, should shock you into making a rational decision. But his lips felt too good on yours, making all of your inhibitions when tumbling down the street below, out of reach. You didn't think you could fetch them now, even as he walked you backwards until your backside hit the cool cement railing. You clawed at each other, needing to feel with your hands, mouths, and tongues. Hands on covered flesh, pulling on the sweat-drenched clothes, desperately need to get closer. You wanted to put this frustration about him … on him.
You reached down to his pants, eyes widening at his promising bulge. The wetness in your pants was even harder to ignore now. You whispered desperately.
"Take it off. Now."
"Bossy, aren't we?"
You pushed his pants down, along with his boxer, letting his cock spring free. You swallowed at the length and thickness, feeling the excitement only grow more prominent at the pit of your stomach.
"Turn around."
He ordered, and you found yourself begrudgingly followed. As soon as you faced the other way, he pulled you flushed against him, making you feel his erection prodding at your back. His lips whispered in your ears while his hands made quick work of your pants, pulling the tight material to gather around your knees.
"Be a good girl for me, and I'll give you what you want."
His hand ran teasingly up your thigh, drawing circles on your burning skin, caressing you everywhere, but not quite where you needed.
"You don't know what I want."
You heard his dark chuckle as he gave you a gentle push, making you lean on the railing, giving you the perfect view of the street below. He lined himself up at your entrance, letting you feel the heavy tip on the seam of your folds.
"Oh, but I do."
The sentence was punctuated with a swift thrust of his hips, and you cried out loud at the welcome intrusion. Fuck, he was big. It was difficult to adjust to his length despite how much you were turned on. He crooned sweet nothings into your ears while you keened over the delicious stretch of his cock in your cunt.
Then he started moving, and there was nothing gentle about it. His thrusts stretched you perfectly. He rammed hard into you; his hips slammed on your ass cheeks with each movement. Your body jolted with each thrust, and you couldn't do anything but moan out loud. How could you hold your moans in when he kept whispering praises into your ears in that deep voice of his?
You were his good girl; you took him so well; you were doing so good for him. For him.
His grunts were beautiful in your ears. The way he made you feel too many things at once was incredible. Then, he spanked you - when did he remove his glove? - and the sting of it spurred you on. You didn't care to hold back, letting your blissed cries and whimpers blend into the balmy air of summer. His hands were on either side of your hips, holding onto you tight, so tight that you were sure would leave bruises in the morning. The thought of seeing the marks that he left on your body excited you; the image triggered you to clamp down onto his cock even harder.
His thrusts grew more erratic; your mixed moans became incoherent as you got dangerously close to the edge. His breaths were rough, as were yours. His hand left your hips to settle on your clit, rubbing circles your sensitive nub. You gasped as your orgasm hit; more euphoric whimpers spilled out to harmonize with his. He came deep in you after a few pumps; his pace turned sloppy as he carried the both of you through the intense high. You sagged on the railing as his thrusts gradually came to a stop, but he didn't pull out right away. As if he was taking his sweet time enjoying your warmth, your tight pussy.
You stayed like that for a bit; even with your clammy skins, you didn't feel uncomfortable. Maybe it was just post-orgasm talking, but you enjoyed this. This feeling of his hard cock inside you as both of you caught your breaths. Then, as your breathings got even, he pulled out of you. You whimpered when you felt his cum dripping out of your core, running along your slit.
Before the hot fluid could spill down your legs, you felt two of his deft fingers push the hot fluid back into your throbbing cunt, not wasting a drop. Your cheeks flushed at the weirdly intimate gesture, at how filthy it was.
You stood up a little straighter, feeling his hands running along your thighs, pulling your undergarment up, securing it over your hips. You sighed as you felt how the panties kept his come from leaking out.
The two of you got dressed in silence. You couldn't help but stare at him when he sheathed himself back into the tight pants; a warm flush rushed to your cheeks. Then, after fixing your clothes, you cleared your throat.
"That was … great-"
"-amazing."
He said with no hesitation. You found yourself smiling at his eagerness, at this something new. It was definitely welcomed and reciprocated.
You called after him as he walked to the fire escape he usually used.
"Can I get your name at least? You know, since we … fucked."
He chuckled lightheartedly, just like the last time you were here. Before disappearing again, he turned to you, flashing you a smile that made your heart throb.
"Take me out to dinner first, sweetheart."