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therealnuclearplatypus · 11 months

Text

hi hello @leovaldezdefender has given me reason to start writing vz fics again woot woot

theme: superhero

There's no such thing as fate. No such thing as a saving grace, or luck. There are no superheroes.

Or so Leo Valdez had taught himself to believe. Ever since his mother died and the rest of his family abandoned him to the mercies of social services, he had given up on any hope of being saved. He'd always have to save himself.

The innate knowledge that no one would help him never stopped him from hoping, though. And that hope was more dangerous than any predicament his family's abandonment put him through: it meant he was constantly disappointed when he had to realize, over and over again, that he'd hoped in vain, and that he'd been stupid to think otherwise.

So, when he laid eyes on Frank Zhang, he didn't let himself hope he'd like him back. He didn't.

And yet hope he did.

The passing of years did little to diminish his want, but if Zhang reciprocated the sentiment even slightly, he was a master at hiding it. Leo told himself to stop hoping. Hope never lead anywhere.

Superheroes don't exist.

***

Frank had always loved reading about superheroes. As a kid, he'd childishly aspired to be Spiderman when he'd grow up. Or Batman, even. They were all so cool. He wanted to be just like them.

He wanted to be a superhero like his mother, too. She was a soldier, and she saved lives. He wanted to be as brave as her.

In comics, the superheroes always won. They were always thanked for their courage. They always lived to see another adventure.

Not so Emily Zhang.

Her loss broke him, and suddenly superheroes didn't seem so appealing. What was the use of being so brave when all it brought was death?

Then he met another superhero. Leo Valdez. Frank told himself to stay away, that souls that bright burn fast and fade faster. It'd only hurt him to love him.

Superheroes are a lie.

***

They found their superhero in each other. In the depths of their despair and loss, they found each other, helped each other out of the dark, and thrived side-by-side.

The existence of superheroes was suddenly a lot more believable.

You're my superhero.

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