Smoke & Deliveries
It's finally done! I can't remember the last time I was this proud of how a snippet turned out! Please tell me what you think! I'd love to know!
A villain had ordered a pizza. That was a fact civilian was still struggling to wrap their head around as they drove.
Since when do villains order pizzas from small local pizza shops?! Surely they had... people for that? Or something? Especially a villain like Vapour, who would have been upped to supervillain status if only he were meaner and more aggressive.
That so wasn't the point.
The point was he'd ordered a pizza, and civilian had been tasked with delivering it!
Vapour got his name from his ability to control any substance in its gaseous form, along with the ability to sublimate himself into smoke and back on a whim. Because of this, he couldn't be caught despite everyone knowing where he lived. Even if someone managed to get him into handcuffs, he could turn to smoke and poof right out of them.
He was also deadly, considering he could control all gases, including the oxygen your lungs required to function. He could force it to expand inside your chest if he so wanted.
Civilians' hands were so sweaty they were almost starting to lose grip on the steering wheel. They kept swallowing, but the excess saliva never seemed to leave their mouth. This was one of the first deliveries they'd done where they didn't have to look up the directions on their GPS; everyone knew the big mansion on Noles Dr at the top of the hill. It was the only house on the street and was pretty hard to miss. Most people spend their time avoiding the place.
But here they were... driving up to it... late at night.
They weren't getting paid enough for this.
The entire area was fenced in, and the two colossal iron gates at the base of the driveway certainly looked like something out of the Addams family. The comparison was only strengthened when a gust of wind blew the gate open right as they drove up.
They continued up the driveway, hesitantly pulling up to the front of the closed garage.
Okay. Okay. They could do this. Thankfully, the villain had already paid online, which meant they didn't actually have to get close. Screw getting a tip. Maybe... they could put the pizza on the doorstep, ring the bell and then run? That... probably wouldn't get them killed... right?
Shakily, the civilian got out of the car, grabbed the pizza and began walking toward the house. They couldn't postpone it any longer lest they risk the pizza getting cold.
The front door was large but not obnoxiously so. Tall plants sat in large stone pots on either side of it.
Civilian approached cautiously. Right as they were about to set the pizza down, they heard the faint click of the lock on the front door and froze solid. The door swung open, unveiling no one there.
They weren't sure if that was better or worse.
Was this... an invitation inside...?
They continued to stand frozen, staring into the entrance hall; the blood-red carpet runner that ran over white marble floor, illuminated in warm light somehow seemed to mock the blood that felt cold in civilian's veins.
Their grip tightened on the cardboard box.
Suddenly they felt something like a ghostly push on their back, causing them to stumble forward a step. Encouraging, not forceful, but clear enough for the civilian to know it wasn't just the wind.
They swallowed, and with a deep breath, they took a step inside. They felt a little lightheaded.
The hallway they stepped into went straight ahead, stairs to the left and what looked like a kitchen past that. They assumed they were going in that direction, but a gentle breeze blowing past them told them otherwise.
The room immediately to the right seemed to be a lounge of some kind. But when they walked in, the civilian nearly dropped the pizza.
The front half of the room was a lounge, with velvet couches and floor-to-ceiling shelves full of books and trinkets, jewelry and gemstones of all kinds. Halfway through the room, however, the marble floor stepped down into a pool with clear glass walls that stretched outside, hanging over the garden below that sparkled with the blinking lights of fireflies. The full moon beamed through the open wall, shimmering off the water and reflecting prisms through the glass. Twinkling fairy lights hung around the edges of the ceiling.
It was like something out of a fantasy; there were so many things in this room, each fascinating and pretty in its own way.
"Whoa," civilian whispered to themselves, speechless.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" A new smooth and velvety voice mused from right behind them.
The civilian spun around so fast that they nearly slipped on the marble floor.
They turned to meet Vapour, who was standing behind them, hands clasped behind his back, armed with an affable but alluring smile. He wore a luxurious black robe, tied at the waist. It looked so soft.
He was also incredibly attractive and, unfortunately, entirely too much the civilian's type, causing their heart to pick up just that little bit more.
"Oh, gods-" civilian panicked, retreating a step and bumping into the back of one of the couches, "I'm so sorry I wasn't trying to invade your privacy or anything I-"
The villain in front of them cut them off with a laugh that was so much prettier than civilian would have imagined, "Breath shutterbug, as cute as you are, I'm not about to eat you. I won't bite unless asked; I promise," the villain smirked, teasing, but something glinted in his eyes that made civilian's stomach do flips. The promise of danger, like a weapon in a glass case. Yet it had the same seductive pull of a siren call.
Civilian felt their cheeks growing hot. A villain just- did they hear that right?
"I- right- I- uhm," they stumbled, before clumsily jerking the box forward, "Your pizza,"
Vapour chuckled again, "Much appreciated, shutterbug," He took it in his hands in one swift, fluid movement before turning towards the table, robe trailing behind him in a silhouette eerily similar to his signature cape. "stay here a moment while I find your tip," he said, laying a hand on civilian's shoulder in a gentle, reassuring motion as he walked by.
Said shoulder felt like it was on fire from the brief contact. It lingered, the ghostly touch igniting their skin even through the thin fabric of their cheap delivery shirt, which felt so remarkably out of place here that it almost fit in an ironic way.
"O-oh! You don't need to do that! Really it's-" the civilian tried, forcing the words out, but the villain merely waved a dismissive hand toward them.
"Oh, nonsense. I know they don't pay you anywhere near enough," he surmised, "besides, not many people are willing to make the trip all the way out here, a bit outside town and all,"
Sure, as if that was why people wouldn't make the trip.
Still, civilian wasn't about to argue with a supervillain, that's for sure.
"So, what's your favourite kind of pizza?" Vapour asked as he slid the box down onto the table.
Civilian blinked, "I- what?"
Villain sent a disarming yet amused smile over his shoulder as he pulled out his wallet, "I'm trying to encourage you to breath; you look like you're about to faint,"
*Right, right, right. Breath.*
"So, pizza?" Vapour prompted again.
"Meat!" Civilian replied a little too quickly before blushing slightly, "like, I mostly like meat on my pizzas, pepperoni, bacon, beef, sausage. I think meat generally tastes good with cheese. I don't like veggies or fruit on it," they babbled nervously.
The villain's eyes glinted again in that dangerously enticing way, "How fun, we like the same,"
Another blink, startled, "R-really?"
"Mmm," the villain hummed, closing their wallet. Suddenly, smoke swirled up their legs, and just like that, they were gone, with only a dense smoke hovering in their place. Before civilian could even react, the smoke rushed towards them, materializing to reveal Vapour standing with the same charming yet teasing smile and two $50 bills extended in his hand.
That little display made this feel all the more real.
Civilian's breath stuttered, wide eyes flicking between the villain's face and hand. Vapour just stood there patiently, though the growing amusement in his eyes seemed to betray his reassuring smile.
"I-" it was like they'd forgotten how to speak, "are you sure? That's so much-"
"Of course," the villain replied, voice gentle and rumbling, like the warm hum of a gas fireplace. Encompassing in a way akin to the warmth it spread. He extended his hand slightly closer to civilian in emphasis, "Go buy yourself something nice; I'm sure someone as cute as you certainly deserves it,"
The civilian immediately felt their face flush again, but they tentatively reached out to take the money, "Th-thank you,"
"Can you see yourself out?" The villain asked, tilting his head questioningly, in a stupidly charming way that his hair fell just above his sharp eyes, pupils catching the reflected moonlight like the edge of a broken bottle...
The civilian blinked out of their trance, blushing furiously, "yes!" They replied a bit too vehemently, which only caused them to blush, "Yeah, I can see myself out. Uhm, enjoy- uh, enjoy your order..."
Vapour smirked, "I'm sure I will; drive safe shutterbug," he winked before turning back around and making his way towards the sofa.
Civilian took their chance, spinning around on their heels and quickly scurrying out to the hallway and through the front door.
Luckily, that was their last delivery of the night, so they drove straight home after getting into their car. It wasn't until they were through their front door that they finally let the events of the night full hit them.
Civilian fell back, leaning against the inside of their front door.
They felt their cheeks heating up and couldn't help the way their hands came up to cover their face.
The villain's voice kept echoing in their head, the way they called them shutterbug, with an almost fond teasing in their voice.
Civilian barely slept that night, and it wasn't out of fear.
