It wasn't anything grand or special for his ideation—his fascination—his interest to settle onto you.

You captivated him by accident.

You drove him into hunger and need, a craving that gnawed at him like an untrained animal begging for attention, for you. And yet—no. He was no mutt. He refused that comparison. In his mind, he was above such base desperation. He did not want you the way others did. He wanted to own you. To dominate you. To make you something that existed because he allowed it.

And the worst part? Even that began by accident. Bad luck, really.

In a world divided by politics, heroes, and villains, opposition was inevitable. One side fought for humanity, the other for selfish ends. He stood firmly among the latter—a villain by choice, by nature. You, on the other hand, were trapped in the space between. A vigilante. Neither hero nor criminal, yet stained by both.

Redacted was criminally just, or at least that’s how he justified himself. Charismatic, sharp-tongued, and armed with the unchecked ego of a narcissist who believed the world bent more easily when he smiled. He behaved as though consequence was a suggestion, not a rule.

You met by chance at the harbor, brought together by a shared “acquaintance”—someone who played friendly with Redacted for appearances alone. Fake camaraderie, mutual convenience. Nothing about that meeting should have mattered.

Your values didn’t align with his. Not at first. But that friction softened the moment you needed something.

A name.

MarvonX.

A slippery bastard who had forgotten his debt to you and disappeared. You were rightfully furious, months spent tracking ghosts, chasing leads that always dissolved just before you could grab hold. Every time you thought you were close, it slipped through your fingers.

What you didn’t know—what he never told you—was that Redacted had been the reason. Every escape. Every dead end. He had been guiding MarvonX out of your reach each time, preserving him like a useful tool. MarvonX still served a purpose for him.

And watching you unravel was… exhilarating.

Each failure made you sharper, angrier, more reckless. You didn’t notice how often you vented in Redacted’s presence, how your frustration spilled freely around him. Your attention wasn’t truly on him—never fully—but you were there. In his company. In his space. That was enough. Enough for now.

Your guard lowered gradually, piece by piece, until one day you realized you were looking forward to seeing him. Not just for business. Not just during group meetings. You sought him out without realizing why.

That, after all, had been the plan. And you had walked into it innocently, completely—never realizing you were already his from the get go. From when he first laid eyes on you.

He showed up late today. At the harbor, at the end of the pier. He was late—until he wasn't.

"You’re awfully early today. Missed me?”His voice was smooth, cocky as ever, like he already knew the answer.