Hero let out a long frustrated exhale before groaning loudly.
"Exhausted already, Hero? How can you possibly save the day when you're already out of breath!" Villain called out from atop the flight of stairs ahead of them.
It wasn't that Hero has weak stamina. It was the fact that they had been chasing Villain since this evening and for some godforsaken reason, the annoyance decided to run to the city's tallest skyscraper and rig the elevators so now Hero's energy was quickly being spent from the trip up the stairs. They don't even know what floor they're on now and at this point, they're too tired to know.
"SHUT IT!" Hero shouted back as they continued their grueling trek up while silently cursing at Villain. Normally they'd have more to say but they'd rather save their oxygen.
Hero slammed the door open with all their weight and fell on their knees gasping for air, beads of sweat dripped onto the rooftop that they finally got to. The do-gooder felt like they've just spent an eternity on those stairs.
"Hero! Chin up!"
Hero gritted their teeth, "I'll kill you Villain--"
They looked up to see a flash of light shoot up to the sky, exploding into a flower of colourful fire, it was followed by several others. The criminal stood near the edge, a wide genuine smile decorating their lips as they looked at Hero. It was a smile entirely different from their annoying signature smirk, one that Hero barely sees them make.
The fireworks created a beautiful backdrop of Villain and for the first time ever, Hero found themself staring at every feature of their nemesis. They've always known Villain was pretty but they look especially stunning today.
Villain's lips slowly curled into their signature smirk, "Happy new years my annoying nemesis!"
Hero groaned, "Did you seriously have to start a chase from this evening until now? Even going so far as to picking the tallest skyscraper there is!" They shouted as loud as they could so as to not get drowned out by the fireworks.
"I'm still a criminal first and foremost! Gotta make you work for it like the menace that I am!"
"I absolutely hate you!"
"Love you too!"
Hero averted their gaze, they can feel their face get hotter. Perhaps they just hadn't recovered from their exhaustion...
Overall 2022 has been pretty good to me! I started a new job I love, my business is thriving, my mental health is doing well, and I’ve had so much fun being over here on Simblr! Just wanted to give another thanks to all the folks I’ve met and gotten to know better this year! I’m excited for more fun times and another great year! See you in 2023!