“So, you want to apply to be a hero?” “Yup” “You saved your world?” “Yep” “But you didnt get the girl?” “She said no” “Couldnt you have, I dont know, tried harder?” “Dude…She said no”
Vincent never considered himself to be a bad person.
He wasn’t perfect. Never claimed to be. But he didn’t think he was a bad person. It was why he had chosen to save the world.
He called up his best friends, Aaron and Carlos, to join him on the mission. Carlos loved saving the world stories, so he told Vincent that he needed two other friends.
“It’s the basic Five Man Band Format.” he insisted, pointing to his little drawing.
Vincent thought it was stupid, but didn’t argue. Carlos had appointed himself the ‘Smart Guy’, so Vincent couldn’t really argue on that front.
He sent out Aaron, who had been appointed as ‘The Heart’, to get two other allies. Those allies were Kitty, short for Catrina, and Vidia.
Kitty, Carlos said, was their Big Guy. The one ready for combat. She was pretty muscled, and took martial arts and dance, and while Vincent had to admit she was pretty, he saw how Carlos looked at her, so he left it alone.
Vidia was their Lancer. The one who fought him on when he was dumb and kept him from being to impulsive. So Vincent fell for her, which was an understanding idea.
Carlos said that it was incredibly common for the Heart and the Leader to end up together, but as Vincent had no interest in Aaron, he didn’t think that would end up happening.
It was the night before his final battle, and he sat in his tent, looking silently down at the plans. It was written out, with scribbles covering the pages. His loopy writing next to Vidia’s tight, conjoined words and Carlos’ messy scribble.
“Knock knock.” said a voice from the entrance. Vidia.
“Ah, Hello Vidia.” Vincent said, sipping from his flask. It was just water, but a flask helped carry things. Less likely to crack open than, say, something you can pick up from your local Malwart.
“Hey Vince.” she laid against the table, staring down at the plans. “You need to sleep you know. We can’t save the world without our big strong leader.” she added teasingly.
Vincent snorted. Then he turned slightly to Vidia. “Vidia. I just want you to know, that, before we go into battle. I like you. Like, romantically. You don’t have to reciprocate, I value you as a friend, I just… Wanted to tell you before I lose my nerve. Or die.”
Vidia paused, frowning for a moment and thinking. “I don’t think I like you in that way. I never really thought about it.” she took a deep breath. “But I do like you, and I value you as a friend. So don’t die on us, okay you asshole.”
“I’ll do my best.” said Vincent with a small smile.
Vidia smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, slowly falling asleep to the sound of crickets and owl and other such wildlife.
They ended up saving the world, which was amazing. It was surprisingly easy, turns out the Dark Lord was used to sending minions to do his dirty work, not actually doing it himself.
At their after party, Vidia cornered him. She was clearly drunk, the smell of alcohol on her breath. They weren’t old enough to drink, but hey, things happen. “Hey, Vince, listen, I’m really honored about you.” she looked woozy for a moment so Vince grabbed her to hold her upright, careful to keep himself in a respectful place.
“Is something wrong?” he asked.
“No, no, nothing’s wrong it’s just.” Vidia looked up at him, a smile on her face. “I thought about it. I love you as a friend. You’re a great friend. Maybe one day we can be more. Maybe in a sequel or a time skip. But for now, you’re a good friend.”
Vincent smiled. “Thanks Vids, you’re a pretty great friend too.”
~~
The next week Vincent applied for an application at the Multi-World Hero Association, or the MWHA, for short.
“So, Mr. Vincent, based on your very impressive backstory and story line, I suppose I should congratulate you and Vidia for your relationship?” said the Agent he was talking to.
“Oh, no, Vidia and I aren’t together.” said Vincent, shaking his head. He had mentioned in his application that he used to have a crush on Vidia, but thought it was pretty clear it was no more.
“Ah, gunning for a slow burn I see. Well, you will have to wait until all the parts of your story are done, and since you’ll be having more in your series, I will need to reject it for now.” said the Agent.
“No, we completed everything. She rejected me, we’re just friends now.” Vincent said, finding this to be perfectly reasonable stance to be taking for such an occasion.
The Agent looked at him, unsure of what to say. “So, you want to apply to be a hero?” He asked, to clarify.
“Yup.” Vincent nodded. He very much did.
“You saved your world?”
“Yep.” He was pretty sure he just said that, but whatever.
“But you didn’t get the girl?” The Agent looked flabbergasted, which was not a word that Vincent used a lot, but Carlos had used, and seemed fitting for the look on his face.
“She said no.” Vincent said again, not sure how this could be hard to understand.
“Couldn’t you have, I don’t know, tried harder?” The Agent looked concerned now, scrolling through his files quickly.
Vincent gave him a look. Were all the agents here this dumb. “Dude…She said no.”
~~
When Vincent returned home, the rest of his group was there. They were all staying in the same place for a while, they were pretty traumatized from the adventure and needed to be around people they knew and went through it as well.
“That was fast.” said Kitty, doing a complex French Braid in her hair, her fingers soft and light as she worked. “I’m not surprised they accepted you that fast.” she added.
“They rejected me.” said Vincent. He hung up his coat.
Aaron, who was cooking, looked in the entry way, and living room, shocked. “Why? You’re basically the perfect applicant.” he said, sputtering.
“Oh, because I wasn’t dating Vidia. True heroes get with their crush.”
Carlos looked so confused about that. “But she rejected you.” he said, looking at him with a very concerned look.
“Mmm, true heroes apparently don’t take no as an answer.” responded Vincent with a sigh, making his way to the kitchen.
“I’ll write a complaint.” said Vidia, who was also in the room, storming toward the office to grab her computer.
Aaron sighed, resting his chin on Vincent’s head. “Don’t worry.” he said. “They’ll see you were too good for them anyway and beg for you to return.”
Vincent sighed. “They didn’t really listen when I tried to explain what happened afterward either. It’s not like I was left without a love interest.”
“Oh, you weren’t?” Aaron teased.
Vincent laughed and turned slightly. “Of course not.” he said, pressing his lips to Aaron’s in a soft kiss. “I have you, my Heart.”