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It's a day like any other one when Louis pushes open the door to his shared apartment. His roommate, Harry, is still out. Probably still working in the library on whatever papers his professors had burdened him with this month and Louis knows how much this man loves working on his school work. They are both still studying, currently tackling their own master courses in college. Harry had chosen for a career in law, while Louis had chosen to follow the course in medical sciences. It would be nice to have a chance at becoming a surgeon after his graduation. Being able to save people every day would be a dream come true.

The two of them had met in the coffee shop where Louis has been working since his first year in college. He had needed the money to pay for the lousy flat he lived in. And groceries, of course. His mum had already paid for his education with the agreement that Louis would work to pay for the rest of it. It's a great deal and Louis doesn't mind the hours of brewing coffee for people in need of some caffeine. One day that had been Harry. When handing him the cup, Louis had managed to trip over his own feet, spilling the beverage all over the fellow student. They had hit it right off after that, becoming best friends and moving in a better flat together the second year of college.

Louis sighs and drops his backpack near his bedroom door before shuffling into the kitchen to start dinner. He knows Harry will be home in time for the food to be ready. "Lou, this is delicious once again. You are the best." Harry will say every time Louis tries putting together a new dish, making the latter try and hide the blush on his cheeks. Louis will never admit it out loud, but he lives for these compliments. The fact that he gets to make sure Harry actually eats at least one meal a day and survives is just another lucky coincidence that comes with the job.

He opens the fridge and lets his eyes roam over the items inside, only to swear under his breath when he realizes the fridge is almost empty. He had forgotten to go grocery shopping after his shift at the coffee shop ended yesterday. It had been a long day with a lot of pissed off customers and the thought of being able to fall face-down on his bed and sleep the day off had been a lot more attractive to Louis than the thought of going to a crowded shop. Especially after his boss yelled at him for being a sarcastic bitch to the costumers.

Running his hand through his hair, Louis goes to fetch his wallet from his backpack. He can't do anything but go grocery shopping today, no matter how much he doesn't feel like it. This will teach him not to be lazy the next time and stick to his schedule. He also slides his phone in his pocket in case Harry gets home early and wonders where he is, though the chance of that happening is close to non-existing.

Soon Louis finds himself on the busy streets of New York City on his way to the small supermarket four blocks away from their apartment. He is zigzagging his way through the pedestrians when he hears his phone ding with a notification. Briefly looking at the screen, he sees a news article about the Emerald Guardian, the local superhero. Louis' mouth turns up in a tiny smile when he reads the man saved another citizen from certain death today, rolling up a wanted criminal in the process also. The man can control the elemental power of air and Louis is pretty sure he has seen him conjure up a force field once in a low-quality video shot by a bystander. Louis has only seen the Emerald Guardian from afar when the hero either was hurrying to or hurrying away from the crime scene. He will have to read the entire article before he goes to bed, but for now, he pockets his phone again.

Harry is always teasing him about the Emerald Guardian. It's his own fault really for admitting to his roommate that the hero is his celebrity crush. He damn well knew Harry would never let it go again. Especially since the curly-haired man has openly voiced his aversion to the local hero to all their friends and everyone who asked about it. Harry is a firm believer in the police force and fire department of the city and thinks that no one should interfere with their jobs. He thinks the spandex-wearing hero gets way too much attention for jobs that normal people risk their lives for every day. The first time they had had that conversation, Louis had let it slip that nothing could top a hero who looked as good as that in a green and silver spandex bodysuit.

"What do you think his face looks like underneath the mask?" Niall had asked on one occasion when their friend group of four went out to the bar together, causing Harry to immediately smirk at his roommate.

"Yes, Tommo, do tell us what he looks like in those sexual fantasies of yours." His smirk became even wider when he had seen Louis' cheeks flush.

"I don't... There are no sexual fantasies, Harold." He forced out, looking away from the twenty-two-year-old's piercing gaze.

"Liar." Harry had immediately shot back and poked his shoulder. "I can hear the moaning, Louis. The walls are like paper." He rolled his eyes for effect and Louis' mouth fell open, gaping at him.

"Harry!" He had brought out betrayed, making Niall and Zayn crack up.

Multiple occasions like this had happened ever since then, but Louis doesn't let it get to him anymore. Instead, he chooses to reply sarcastically now whenever the subject is brought up, giving his friends way too many details instead. It usually does the trick to make them shut up.

The bell above the door tinkles when Louis pushes it open to step into the store. He smiles at the store owner as a greeting and takes a basket. He shops slowly and takes only what they really need. They are on a budget after all and the life of a student is not a cheap one. In the end, he also decides to take some snacks for a movie night soon. Perhaps he and Harry could watch The Little Mermaid again. Disney classics are always a good idea. Louis smiles fondly at the idea.

There are only three people in front of him at the cash register when he gets in line. After getting a short look at the new Tic-Tac flavours, his phone beeps again with a text notification. Louis' smile widens when he sees Harry's name on the screen.

'Where are you and when will you be home?' The text reads with impeccable spelling. Louis grins, knowing that Harry is worried about him because Louis always beats him home on days he doesn't have to work. He types out his response.

'At store. B home soon.'

Before he even has time to pocket his phone again, a scream reverberates through the store. Louis snaps his head up alarmed in time to see three men with guns raised pushing in through the glass doors of the store. A black mask hides their faces but leaves room for their eyes.

"Hands up! Get on the floor!" The larger one of them shouts while pointing his gun at the lady in front of Louis, who has frozen on spot by the shock. Panic is clear on her face when she hurries to lay down on the floor with her hands in clear sight. He can hear her muttering quietly and pleading for the robber to not hurt her. The man turns to the store owner satisfied and shouts at him to get them all the money while the woman starts praying.

Louis feels fear and anger settle low in his stomach when he looks at the situation in front of him. He has never seen anything like this before, let alone be in the middle of it. He notices that one of the men took post at the door as a guard. The last man he finds when he turns around to sneak away and is met with a gun pointed at his head.

"Were we not clear? Get on the floor now!" He shouts at Louis' face. The student slowly holds up his hands, phone still clutched in his left one, to show that he doesn't mean any harm. Unfortunately, that was a wrong move. When the criminal's eyes focus on the phone, Louis can see the fire light up in his pupils.

"Don't you dare try anything stupid!" The man shouts again and with the back of the gun, he slams Louis' phone out of his hand. His fingers get the full blast of the hit and he groans in pain as the phone falls to the floor. "On the ground!"

"What the fuck, man?" Louis growls, the anger winning over the fear now. He is vaguely aware that all the commotion he is causing is now also attracting the attention of the other two thieves in the store.

"Last warning, boy. On the floor." The robber in front of him hisses again, but before he can finish his sentence, Louis has dropped his basket and swings his good fist at the man. Louis has never been the best at impulse control. He hits the criminal square in the jaw and watches as the man stumbles back a few steps. He is ready to throw another punch, but the man is faster. The thief hits Louis on the head with the back of his gun as hard as he can manage. Pain explodes from the spot where he got hit, making Louis see stars. He is pretty sure he is bleeding too when he feels liquid stream down his face. He had been hit right above his left eye by the feel of it.

"Shoot him!" Louis senses that he is in danger by the command the thief behind him yelled and whirls around when he hears a gun cock behind him. Through his haze, he can see the barrel of the gun being pointed at him. He is going to die if he doesn't do anything right now. But before he has time to react, the sound of a gunshot goes through the store. As in slow motion, Louis sees the spark inside the gun going off inside the barrel of the gun. He doesn't see his life flash before his eyes, but he does realize in a split second that this is it for him. He doesn't even have time to close his eyes.

Then there is a flash of green and silver between Louis and the gun. The student is pushed out of the way in the blink of an eye by a forceful blow of wind. He gets thrown into a shelf with canned soup, hitting the shelf hard and sliding onto the floor as cans rain down all around him, but not hitting him. When he finally looks up, Louis is met with the Emerald Guardian with a force field as a shield in front of him. The bullet that was just fired at Louis is laying in front of the hero, bounced away by the transparent field. Without losing time, the superhero drops the shield and launches himself at the man who tried to shoot Louis.

Louis has to close his eyes against the dizziness that is starting to overwhelm him now. His vision has gone blurry. First, the blow against his head and then being thrown around hadn't really done him any good. The wound is still bleeding, but Louis can also feel the wind moving around in the shop, blowing a few of his stray hairs in his face, no doubt getting them covered in blood too.

He trusts the Emerald Guardian to take care of the criminals while he gets his act together. The sounds of the fight he banns to the background as the ringing in his ears gets louder. Louis is trying to calm himself down by letting his thoughts roam over the things he needs to do.

Harry. It's the first thought that pops up in his head. He should let Harry know that he is okay. Or no... he needs a doctor first. Medical care. Something he probably needs to find soon. The wound on his head will need stitches and he most definitely has a concussion. This is not the first fight Louis has been in. This is not his first concussion either, though it feels worse than his first one. His medical knowledge allows him to relax. It's probably a mild concussion. He has nothing to worry about, he just needs to rest.

The blue-eyed man is shocked back to reality when a hand softly takes a grip on his shoulder. Slowly, he opens his eyes. He is still dizzy and his vision is still a bit blurry, but he recognizes the emerald and silver mask in front of him.

"Are you okay?" The hero asks him softly. His voice is low and formal. It has a robotic tone to it too.

"Is that a voice changer?" Louis asks dumbly and watches the hero's mouth moves into a smile underneath his mask. He lets out a chuckle too.

"Yes, it is. Don't want anyone finding out my identity now, do I?" The man gently moves his hand from Louis' shoulder to cup his cheek. He tilts up his head slowly and gently rubs the blood away from his forehead with his thumb.

Louis lets his lips part and a gasp of air escapes when he looks at the hero who must be inspecting his wound. He can't even see his eyes but still... Louis wonders if his face is flustered because of his crush's proximity or if he is pale because of his loss of blood and injury.

"I should bring you to a hospital. You need to get this checked out."

With a snap, Louis is brought back to reality. He nods in agreement but winces when his head starts aching at the movement. "I just... I need my phone. My roommate..." He looks around for his phone and sees it a few feet away from him, scattered into pieces. Then he notices the unconscious criminals in the middle of the chaos in the store and frowns. "Shit. I need to let Harry know I'm okay. That I'll be going to the hospital." He looks at the hero desperately.

"I'll tell you what," The hero says. "I'll get you to the hospital so you can get medical attention first, and then I'll make sure that you can use someone's phone to call him, okay?"

Louis hesitates. "Don't you have places to be?" He wonders, letting his eyes wander over the suit the Emerald Guardian is wearing.

"No, I want to make sure you are safe first."

Louis feels his cheeks heat up again as his hero speaks those words. His eyes flick back up to the mask as he wonders if the man is staring into his eyes now. "Okay." He says. The hand disappears from his face as the hero gets up again. Louis can't help but feel a bit disappointed, but follows suit anyway. He widens his eyes and yelps when a wave of dizziness sends him falling forward.

Two strong arms wrap themselves around his waist before he can fall and when he looks up he is once again met with the sight of the hero's mask only inches away from his face.

"Good thing I stayed, huh?"

Louis can practically hear the smirk in the hero's voice, but he doesn't reply as he has to clench his eyes shut when the ringing in his ears comes back. He feels like proper shit.

Before he knows it, the Emerald Guardian has hosted him up in his arms bridal style. He carries Louis outside carefully. Louis hears him ask if the store owner will be able to handle it from here and the mumbled reply that follows it before he feels the fresh air on his skin. There must have been a crowd forming outside already because, in the background, Louis believes he can hear people talking hushed.

"Keep your eyes closed, okay? I'm going to use air manipulation to travel to the hospital faster. Try to keep breathing." The robotic voice near his ear makes Louis focus again.

He nods slowly and keeps his eyes shut. It's not long before the wind blows him in the face strongly. He can't breathe at first when the air hits him square in the face. It's like he forgot how to, making him gasp desperately. On instinct, he turns away from the impact of the wind and buries his face into the superhero's chest. He stays like that for the rest of the short trip to the hospital, realizing how close he is to his celebrity crush for real this time.

When they arrive, the Emerald Guardian puts Louis down on the bed in the room the nurses pointed them too. They immediately start cleaning the blood as the superhero stands back and disappears from the room. Louis watches him disappear and sighs. He wishes he could have thanked the hero before he left, or at least he wishes he could have said goodbye. The student doesn't even know what to think of the whole rescue. Instead, he decides to let the nurses do the thinking for now and relaxes against the pillow.

"Sir?" One of them catches his attention. "The wound above your eye needs stitches. You are suffering a mild concussion too, but nothing you should worry about." He nods dumbly and allows them to stitch up the wound gently. It's just as he had thought then. Nothing too bad.

It's only when the nurses leave Louis notices the Emerald Guardian leaning against the doorway of his room. Louis immediately smiles, a bit surprised. He thought the hero would have left a while ago to fight crime again. People need saving all the time after all.

"How are you feeling?" The robotic voice greets him once again as the hero walks closer to Louis, who is glad they hadn't hooked him up to a heart monitor as his heart speeds up.

"As good as could be expected from suffering a concussion, I guess." He answers, looking at the man's arms as he leans on the bed. "I thought you left?" Louis lets the words slip and he realizes how whiny he sounded. He grimaces at his own actions.

"Nah, I couldn't leave you without checking up on you." The hero tells him casually. "Besides, I made you a promise, didn't I?"

Louis looks up at the masked hero confused. Had he made a promise? Only when the hero hands Louis a phone he understands. "You will have to give it back to the nurse I borrowed it from when you leave, but at least now you can call your boyfriend to let him know you are okay."

Louis sputters when he hears his words. His face goes red once again as he tries to shake his head, but regrets it when another flash of pain runs through his brain. "Harry is not my boyfriend." He tells him softly, looking down. "He is my best friend and roommate. He ignored the flirting, so I stopped-" He snaps his mouth shut. He doesn't need to talk about this with strangers. Louis fiddles with the phone in his hands, not daring to look up. He doesn't get why he is so shy all of a sudden. For now, he is blaming the concussion.

"Hey." The gloved hand is back on his cheek and gently making him look up at the superhero again. The gentle touch of the gloved digits running over his cheekbone sends shivers down his spine and he almost gasps when the man's thumb rubs over his bottom lip tenderly. "His loss." The hero's voice is less formal now, more husky.

And then, as sudden as it came, the touch disappears again.

"Call him. I have to go again, I am afraid."

Louis nods. "Thank you." He whispers before he watches the Emerald Guardian leave his hospital room for good this time.

~*~

"Tomlinson!"

The door to his room bangs against the wall as the unexpected guests enter. Louis groans and lifts the blankets over his head in a futile attempt to hide from his loud friends.

"Louis! You have some explaining to do, mate." Niall drops himself on Louis' bed with such force that Louis bounces on the mattress.

"Ni, cut him some slack. The man has a concussion." Zayn's voice drifts into the room too and soon after, Louis feels the bed dip on his other side too. "Though I must say I am curious too now."

Slowly, Louis pokes his head out from under the blankets, glaring at Niall. He has been sleeping ever since he arrived home from the hospital yesterday evening after he called Harry.

The man had panicked when Louis called him about what happened. It took him only a few minutes to arrive at the hospital and demand what had happened. He all but dragged a nurse in to discuss his situation. All she had told him was that Louis needed 72 hours of absolute rest. After that, he should be fine.

Harry had taken him home soon after, rambling about how careless Louis had been. Louis had told him the entire story at that point. Some details he kept to himself, but Harry knows everything he should know. As soon as his head had rested on the pillow, Louis had been out like a light, sleeping till Niall had so rudely interrupted his sleep.

"What?" He mumbles intelligently and looks at Zayn for an explanation. Out of the two of them, he is the more reasonable one to talk to in a situation like this. He ignores the sting near his eyebrow when he pulls up an eyebrow questioningly.

"We heard what happened yesterday. We wanted to know how you are holding up." Zayn says softly, a gentle smile on his face.

Niall clicks his tongue impatiently. "And we want you to explain this."

A phone is pressed into his face. Once his eyes focus, Louis realizes he is staring at a picture in a newspaper article. It seems to be taken outside the shop yesterday evening and features himself, in the arms of the Emerald Guardian.

He gasps and smiles. He should have known people would be taking pictures of that. He had vaguely registered a crowd had formed around the store, but never really paid attention to it. Maybe he can frame that picture to put above his bed.

With a huff, he then pushes the phone away from his face, playing it cool. "He saved my life and brought me to the hospital. End of story."

Niall groans next to him and starts firing a whole string of questions at his injured friend. "No, Louis. Details. Did he talk to you? What does his voice sound like? Did he say anything? Do you know who he is? Does he smell nice?"

Zayn crosses his arms over his chest in jealousy, but Niall doesn't pay attention to him as he waits for Louis to answer him. He does offer his boyfriend his hand however, which Zayn gingerly takes.

"Uhm... He uses a voice changer device." He brings out. "And I don't know what he smelled like, Ni. I was too busy not passing out. I have a concussion, remember?"

His Irish friend grins at him. "At least you got to meet your celebrity crush. It looks so romantic." He sighs dramatically.

"He wasn't there very long, but he was very nice." Louis starts going over the details of last night a bit more detailed for his friends, smiling at the memory of it all. From the corner of his eyes, he sees Harry, who was leaning against the doorpost, frowning and leaving silently when Louis keeps filling in the couple with details about the hero beaming.

~*~

After the three days of complete rest, Louis picks up his life again as if nothing happened. He follows his classes, studies in his free time, cooks for Harry for when he gets home from the library and goes to work whenever his shifts start.

It took a week for the whole incident to be forgotten. At first, when he got back in class, his fellow students recognized him from the article online. It happened on more than one occasion that men and women alike came to ask him what the superhero is actually like. He had always shrugged whenever someone asked, telling them that they didn't really get a chance to talk and left it at that.

The Emerald Guardian has been back to saving the city and Louis has finally accepted the fact that he will never see him again. The encounter had been nice, but a one-time thing. Maybe even the one-time thing he needed to get a grip on reality and realize that he needs to find a real boyfriend instead of indulging in a fictional relationship with a superhero.

"Hazza?" Louis calls out when he arrives home late one night after his shift at the coffee shop. "I'm sorry I'm late, but Ben totally screwed up the machine and I had to fix it before leaving." He walks into the kitchen where Harry is staring at him with a frown.

"That's fine." He tells him thoughtlessly as his eyes turn back to the envelope in his hand. Louis hadn't noticed it before, even though Harry had been fiddling with it in his hands. The troubled tone in his voice made Louis frown cautiously.

He walks closer curiously. "What is that?" He asks, pointing at the piece of paper in his roommate's hands. He dreads it's something very bad that has upset his best friend, but when Harry flips it over, Louis can see his name on the front of the still sealed letter in beautiful calligraphy.

"I don't know. It was on the table when I arrived. I believe it is for you." He hands over the letter to Louis worriedly. "It doesn't have a return address, there is no stamp and I have no clue how it ended up on our table, Lou. What if it is something bad? A threat?"

Louis raises an eyebrow. "Let me just see what it is first before you work yourself up." He mutters and opens the envelope carefully. He doesn't want to rip it.

Inside is another piece of neatly folded paper. The letter is not even a page long, typed out entirely and addressed to him.

'My dearest Louis

It took me a while to figure out your name. Admittedly, it was stupid of me not to ask for it when we shared that intimate moment in the hospital room I left you in.

Now, it is in my best interests I send you this letter. I do not wish to alarm you by having this letter appear in your apartment without any explanation. I did take the liberty to enter your home when no one was home, but do not worry. I only placed this letter on the kitchen table and left. It is not in my best behaviour to snoop around or steal. I have an image as hero to maintain after all.

It pained me to leave you like that in the hospital. Frankly, you are the most perfect human being I have ever seen and I long to see you again. You, Louis Tomlinson, have captured my interests and I have been finding myself distracted by thoughts of you. I wish I could have felt your skin that night underneath my palm.

I also hope you understand why we cannot meet again. My identity and family are at stake and I cannot risk their safety for my own selfish reasons. I cannot put you in danger, my dear Louis.

For this, I bid you adieu.

yours

Emerald Guardian.'

Louis' heart is fluttering in his chest when he finished the letter. He is sure his entire face is red and he can't help the massive smile that is spreading on his face.

He almost can't believe it. The Emerald Guardian is still thinking about him and he feels the same way about that night in the hospital. Louis feels his insides fill with joy at the realization and the letter he is still holding in his hand.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Harry's voice snaps him out of his own thoughts. In the blink of an eye, the man has ripped the letter out of his hand and walked off to read it on his own.

"Hey!" Louis yells defensively and immediately runs after his friend to try and get his letter back. It's no use. Harry soon realizes what kind of letter it is and who must have written it. He stills his movements while finishing the letter.

This allows Louis to finally snatch back the letter and to put it back in the envelope carefully. "What were you thinking?" He asks his roommate sternly. "That letter was not meant for you." Louis accuses him.

"Maybe not, but I am glad I did take it." Harry is standing in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest and an unhappy scowl on his face. "What are you gonna do about that?" He looks in the direction of the letter shortly before looking straight into his blue eyes.

Louis blinks confusedly. "What do you mean, what am I gonna do about it?"

"Well, that clearly is a love letter, Louis."

"Thank you, captain obvious. There isn't anything I can do, now is there?" Louis asks, looking down at the letter again in disappointment at the realization.

"But you want to do something about it." It's not a question. Harry is smart enough to have figured out that something must have happened between Louis and his hero. Louis' crush is now reciprocated.

"So what if I want to? I don't know him. I can't do anything." Louis snaps at him in frustration, throwing up his hands annoyed.

Harry shakes his head. "You better not try anything. Who does that masked vigilante think he is?" his voice is getting louder. "He thinks he is above the law. Breaking into houses just makes him a thief himself. You better stay away from him, Louis. I don't deem it above you to leave letters for him or seek out danger just to see you again."

Louis' approving expression at his last words must have shown on his face because it only takes a second for his roommate to start ranting about why that is not a good idea.

"No, Louis. You have to stay away from him. You almost got killed once and I can't bear to lose you if it happens again! You won't put yourself in danger for a stranger who happens to be a superhero." Harry's voice is rising and Louis feels anger spark in his chest too.

"You don't get to choose how I lead my life, Styles. You are not my mother!" He sneers and points his finger at his chest. "The guy is a hero, not a villain. I'm sure he is safe to be with. As you said, he already saved me once."

"You don't even know who he is, Louis! What if he is an old man? What if he is only pretending to be nice?"

Louis sees red. He clenches his fists at his side and stomps past Harry into his bedroom, slamming the door shut behind him and locking it. A clear indication that he is done talking to him.

~*~

He had taken up Harry's advice after all, even though it wasn't meant to be advice. Louis had been leaving letters on his bedroom windowsill with a rock on top of them so they won't fly away because of the strong wind. He writes his feelings for the superhero in them, how they can make it work if they tried. Every day the letters disappear, but not once is there a reply. Louis isn't sure if the Emerald Guardian even gets his letters.

After two weeks of not getting a response, Louis had given up. The Emerald Guardian has clearly made his decision and Louis will respect that.

He does know for sure that the first letter had not been a prank by someone. Only five people know what really happened in the hospital. Only two of them have a key to the apartment and Louis is sure that Harry would never do anything like that to him. Especially after seeing Harry's sharp responds to the letter.

The green-eyed man had apologized to Louis soon after the incident with the love letter. They never can stay mad at each other for long. Though, Louis has opted not to tell him about the letters he has been writing. Instead, they have been having a weekly movie night in which they curl up together on the couch with popcorn, a Disney classic playing on the television.

Now, three weeks after giving up writing letters, Louis slings his backpack over his shoulder and leaves for class. He feels empty. It was cruel of the Emerald Guardian to leave him like that, but he will get over it. It is the second person who had turned him down, though and that hurts. Harry had been the first. About a year ago, Louis had started flirting with him. His roommate started to act distant immediately and Louis had made the connection and stopped his courting immediately. He rather still have Harry as friend than not at all. It will be a long day today with the evening shift in the coffee shop. A perfect day for trying to forget about his hero. Maybe he should start by not thinking about the Emerald Guardian as hís hero anymore.

It's on his way to his first class he sees the flashing lights of police cars in the distance. Glancing at his clock, Louis decides to go see what is happening out of concern for the victims. Or that is what he tells himself. He is skipping class for this after all.

When he arrives at the bank near his school, a crowd of spectators has already formed. Louis stands on his tip-toes to try and get a glance at the scene. Instead, his eyes lock on the superhero stepping out of the building. The butterflies in his stomach flare up at the sight of the green and silver spandex and Louis silently curses himself for feeling this way. The suit looks so good on him. And the design is a true piece of art.

The Emerald Guardian doesn't waste time with crowds or journalists. He has never spoken to the press before and Louis sees him getting ready to take off, so before he can stop himself, he finds himself calling out to him.

"Hey!" His voice is louder than he thought it would be. The murmurs of the crowd go silent and they all turn to look at him. Immediately he cringes. Louis doesn't mind being the centre of attention in crowds, but in this case he only wanted the attention of one particular person.

But he got what he wanted in the end because when he looks back at the Emerald Guardian, he can see he has the superhero's attention now too.

Louis wishes he could see the expression on the man's face. It's hard to calculate his reaction when he still has his mask on. What if he gets angry with Louis trying to stalk him? What if he feels disgusted by the student? He dismisses that thought immediately, because after all, the hero had stalked first Louis for his name and address.

That reminds the student about the letter he received from his superhero and warmth rushes through him at the thought of the sweet words. But soon he also remembers the decision of the hero not to meet with Louis again and Louis had promised himself to be at peace with that decision.

He immediately casts his eyes down. He swears to himself for doing something so stupid and starts turning away from the scene to leave. Class must have started by now, but there is still the option to hide in his room.

Louis turns on his feet and sets a few hurried steps away from the crime scene before bumping into someone. He gasps and starts apologizing quickly, looking up, but when his eyes lock on the superhero's mask, he falters.

"Oh."

The hero chuckles amused. "We meet again, Louis Tomlinson." The same robotic voice fills his ears and Louis can't help but smile. He missed that voice.

"I got your letter." He starts eloquently.

The hero nods. "I hoped so." There are a few seconds of silence. "I got yours too."

Louis frowns. "You did?" He asks and watches curiously as the hero nods.

"Every single one of them for two weeks."

"And you never answered." The frown is still on his face. "Why?" He has to know.

The hero sighs. "I explained to you why in the letter, Louis. My identity. The people I care about will be in danger when I am discovered. People hate me for what I do."

Louis opens his mouth to speak, but is distracted by a camera flash. When he looks to his right, he can see that the entire crowd has moved in a circle around them and are now recording the conversation. He grimaces at the thought of being in the paper again.

"Perhaps we should not do this here." The Emerald Guardian speaks Louis' thoughts out loud and offers him his hand. "Care to fly with me again?"

Louis quickly takes his hand and nods. The hero wraps Louis' arms around his shoulders and places his own arms around the student's waist. Louis remembers the pressure of the wind on his face and hides his face in the hero's neck this time before they even leave. He closes his eyes too because he is not too keen on heights.

Not long after, Louis feels the ground disappear underneath his feet. He clings to the hero tighter and takes a deep breath to reassure himself. His hero won't let him fall. The wind rushes past the two of them and when he opens his eyes for a second he can see the ground already far beneath them. Louis gasps and quickly closes them again.

"You can open your eyes now." The Emerald Guardian speaks as soon as Louis feels solid ground under his feet again.

"Thank God." He says and opens his eyes. The superhero steps away from him chuckling.

"Fear of heights?" He asks, and Louis can imagine the smirk on his face.

Louis takes in his surroundings as he answers. "Only a bit."

They are on top of the roof of a skyscraper, looking out over New York City. Louis gasps as he sees the view and smiles. "Wow. It's beautiful up here."

"Come sit with me." The now familiar robotic voice says and Louis turns to look at where the hero is seated on the roof. He walks to him slowly and sits down next to him. Louis looks at him sadly.

"I don't have to know your identity." He says slowly after a while. "And you don't have to worry about me being in danger. People have caught me with you twice now. If they target someone it's going to be me. So that doesn't matter anymore." He argues.

It's silent for a while. The wind ruffles through Louis' hair, messing it up. He slowly runs his hand through his hair to keep it out of his face, but it is no use. Soon after the wind weakens until there is none left. It takes a while before Louis realizes the Emerald Guardian is using his powers. Louis slowly inches his own hand closer to the hero's. It's only when he softly touches his gloved fingers the hero turns to him to speaks. "Do you trust me?"

Louis nods. "I trust you." He whispers.

"Close your eyes."

Louis sits silently as he closes his eyes. He hears the rustle of fabric and soon he feels two gloved hands cup his cheeks gently. Then there is the pressure of lips against his own. He immediately starts moving his lips against the other man's lips in a slow kiss. The butterflies in his stomach are going wild as he brings up his arms and wraps them around the hero's waist to pull him closer.

The kiss tastes like coffee and honestly, it's the best feeling Louis has ever had. Eventually, the Emerald Guardian pulls away from Louis, keeping one hand on the student's cheek, sliding it down to rest on his hip. Louis has to actively remind himself to keep his eyes shut. He wants to show his hero that he can trust him too. There is the rustle of fabric again and soon he tells Louis to open his eyes.

Louis is smiling happily. His eyes focus on the mask once again and his smile widens. "Does this mean we are going to give us a chance?" He whispers.

The hero pulls Louis closer so they are sitting pressed against each other. "Yes, it does." He tells him and wraps his arm around the student. Louis is almost sitting in his lap.

They sit cuddled together in a comfortable silence for almost an hour before Louis picks up a faint voice. It kind of sounds like a radio.

"I'm on my way." The Emerald Guardian speaks up. The radio voice speaks once again before the hero stands up and looks at Louis. "I have to go. There is a fire in a skyscraper going on. People need to be rescued" He explains and takes Louis' hand, pulling him up from where he is still seated on the roof. He only now notices the superhero is taller than him.

"Wait..." Louis starts curiously. "You don't work alone?" This is brand new information for him. He always assumed that the hero worked on his own.

The hero sighs. "Louis. Please don't ask questions about this? You said you didn't want to know anything about my identity." He almost sounds desperate to Louis. "I'll take you home."

Louis agrees silently and allows the hero to fly him home safely.

~*~

And so Louis' relationship with the superhero began. Harry was not happy about it once he found out about it. Louis had decided to tell him himself before he found out through the internet or news channels. That hadn't stopped his best friend from angrily summing up all the bad things about their relationship though.

It had led to another fight between the two of them. Louis can't help but feel as if his friendship with Harry is falling apart because of his relationship with the one person Harry doesn't like. They don't see each other as much anymore and Harry makes a point of staying out in the library later. Louis stops cooking for the both of them. He feels miserable because of it.

Of course Louis' mind is blaring an alarm somewhere, warning him about how wrong it is to start dating a person he doesn't even know the identity of, but he dismisses it. The feeling of new romance is keeping him from seeing the bad stuff. He keeps up his school work and his shifts at the coffee shop, so he doesn't see why having a relationship with the Emerald Guardian has to be something bad or dangerous, like Harry keeps saying.

When Louis sees Harry now, and talks to him on the rare occasion, they seem to avoid the subject of Louis' new boyfriend. Harry has not accepted it yet and Louis doesn't want to put more fuel on the fight between them. And while Harry refuses to accept the hero, Niall is a different story entirely.

When Louis had told him and Zayn about his boyfriend, Niall had been so excited. He had asked for all the details. They are excited for him.

In the few months Louis has been together with Emerald, as he calls the hero now, they had been communicated through notes left on his windowsill. Sometimes even at work or in other places Louis has to be during the day. They leave the student feeling giddy. Like he has a secret admirer and Louis is a high school girl with a crush, trying to figure out who it is leaving him the sweet notes.

They will always tell him how beautiful he is. They will compare his freckles with constellations of stars, his eyes with the galaxy and Louis keeps every single one of them. In return, he writes about his thoughts about the hero. His muscles, the way he fights crime and saves people, but also about how caring he is when he is with Louis, how happy he makes him.

The notes are their way of texting. Louis had asked for his phone number once, but the hero had refused him, once again reminding the shorter lad of his promise not to ask any questions that could lead him to figure out his identity.

So Louis had left it at that. The identity is starting to bother him though. Louis has told his boyfriend everything about himself, but he never gets anything in return. Surely, the hero must be on his way to trusting Louis by now, enough to at least tell him some stuff. But no, Louis gets nothing out of him. The student always dismisses the matter with a sigh.

It is often the Emerald Guardian takes the both of them to the rooftop they first kissed on. It's their way of dating in privacy. Well, as far as privacy goes. Louis has figured out on his own that his boyfriend must have a radio transmitter in his suit. He can hear the radio voice comment on some of the things they do together, but the hero acts as if he can't hear it. Louis does the same. There was one time the hero let it slip that there is a third person on his team also. The one who keeps improving his suit. His hero doesn't work alone and they will never have complete privacy, but that is okay. They never were a normal couple, but that is a sacrifice Louis is willing to make. For the sake of Emerald's family and all the people he saves.

Until he starts getting tired of not getting any info on the man he loves and starts fishing.

"I saw you saved those kids the other day." Louis smiles up at Emerald and kisses his cheek through the mask. "You are amazing."

The hero chuckles. "Thank you, love. The children were very grateful." Louis can see his lips form a smile under the mask.

"Are you any good with children then?"

"I like to believe so, yes."

"Is that because you have younger siblings?" Louis hums as he casually asks the question, but the hero sees right through him.

"Are we at this again, Louis... I can't tell you." He moves away from his powerless boyfriend and sighs. "I don't think you can do this."

Louis feels his heart speed up at his words. "No, I can do the thing in which I don't need to know your identity exactly." He says and grabs the hero's hand. "I can. What I can't do is you not telling me anything."

Emerald looks at him through his mask. "What do you mean? I can't tell you anything without giving part of my identity away."

"Sure, you can't tell me about siblings, Emerald." Louis starts arguing back. "But I don't even know what your favourite colour is. And for all I know you are an old man. Can I at least know what age group you are in? Fuck, for all I know I am illegally dating a 14-year-old." He frowns and looks up at him. "Just small things, Emerald."

There's a tense pause between them in which they stare at each other before the robotic voice breaks the silence.

"Blue."

Louis frowns. "What?"

"My favourite colour is blue. And I'm legal. I'm older than twenty, younger than forty." He sounds a bit hesitant.

Louis smiles and cups his cheek with his hand. "Thank you for sharing that, Em." He whispers and leans in closer. "That describes nine tenths of all of New York City. I think your identity is safe."

They both chuckle before Louis closes his eyes. Soon he hears the ruffle of fabric which preludes the sweet lips soon to meet his.

They kiss softly at first, until Emerald pulls Louis on his lap and they get carried away. It's not long before Louis slides his hands up to where Em's hair should be. In the progress, he manages to slide the mask up until it falls on the ground. Louis grasps the hero's hair and pulls softly.

Emerald gasps and moans a bit before he pushes Louis away gently. He places a hand over Louis eyes as he tries to reach for the mask on the ground. Louis knows exactly what happened. The voice changer devise is built into the mask. The moan had revealed a sound so much closer to the Emerald Guardian's real voice.

The knowledge of that makes a shiver run down Louis' spine. He had sounded so hot.

"I think it's time to get you home." The robotic voice says as the hand slides from his eyes. Louis nods. It had been getting late anyway.

"Yeah, Harry expected me home." He mumbles still dazed.

And when Louis climbs in through the window later that night with a giant smile on his face, he ignores the scoff he gets from his roommate.

~*~

Louis is asleep when it happens. It's the middle of the night when he is woken up by his bedroom window shattering into billions of tiny pieces.

The student bolts upright in his bed and flicks the lights on in panic. The sight in front of him horrifies him even more than any criminal barging in could have done. Between the pieces of broken glass, his hero is laying on the floor. His suit is ripped in several places and he is bleeding badly.

"Emerald?" He asks unsure as he watches the hero pant and groan in pain.

"Louis. I-Ah! I need your help." His voice sounds more human, but still deformed and Louis registers in the back of his mind that his voice changer device must not have been functioning well anymore. Louis quickly pulls on his sneakers and hurries to the hero's side. He is still shirtless, but he doesn't want to get any glass in his feet with his boyfriend injured like this.

"What happened?" He lets the man lean on him as he brings him to the living room. He lays the hero on the couch and looks over him. There are cuts all over his body and to his horror, there is a bullet wound in his shoulder. Louis gasps at the discovery and gets his medical kit from the kitchen cabinet. "You have to go to the hospital!" He says with urgency. "I don't have the right materials for this." He takes out a bandage to stem the blood.

"No." The Emerald Guardian croaks out and grabs Louis' wrist once the student sits down next to him on the floor, bandages in his hand. "They can't know, Lou. I trust you to do this. I trust you."

Louis looks at the mask again. He can see part of the man's face where the fabric has ripped, but the skin is covered in blood and wounds.

Louis makes his decision. "I will have to take off your suit." He tells him sternly. If he has to do it, he won't accept any of the hidden identity crap.

"I was afraid that was the case."

Louis nods and goes to grab the scissors. "Harry!" He shouts for his roommate, knowing the man is a light sleeper and will come soon. "Harry! I need your help in here!" He know his friend hates the hero, but even Harry would put their differences aside to help a dying man. Louis knows.

He soon returns to the hero's side. He has taken off his gloves himself and stops Louis when he places the scissors at the suit, ready to cut.

"Wait." He says softly. Louis looks at him with a frowns.

"Your wounds aren't deadly, but they will be if I don't get started soon," Louis explains, then looks up. "Harry! Get up, for God's sake!" He yells again annoyed. Where is he?

"Darling." The Emerald Guardian speaks again, catching Louis' attention with the sweet nickname he always uses to catch his boyfriend's attention. "Please. I want you to know that my feelings for you are real, okay. No matter what happens in a minute." He sounds so desperate. So scared.

Louis frowns, realizing this is about his identity. "Baby..." He slowly takes his hand and squeezes it. He feels his skin for the first time while doing this. "I don't care who you are. I promise nothing has to change. I love you."

The hero smiles sadly underneath his mask, Louis can see the movement of his lips. "I love you too. Always remember that." His heart flutters in his chest when his hero returns the words to him.

"I promise," Louis whispers and then starts cutting away the fabric of the suit. He is careful not to touch any of the wounds. Soon the body of the suit is on the floor and Louis can see just how bad the damage really is. There is blood all over his body.

"I have to clean the bullet wound first." He tells his boyfriend gently and looks at the wound. He can see the bullet in the wound and hums. It's not anywhere near any important parts so just removing it will be fine.

He tries to block out all the pained noises the hero makes underneath his mask as he does his job. First he cleans the wound with alcohol. The half empty bottle of whiskey he found in a cupboard has to do for now. Then he takes out the bullet carefully and cleans the wound again with the whiskey. Louis can't imagine how much this must hurt and he is amazed by the durability of the superhero. Perhaps it has something to do with his superpowers. Soon he is finishing stitching the wound.

"It will scar," Louis tells him as he cuts off the thread. "And you will need to rest for a while. I will clean up the rest of the cuts now."

Louis gets to work again, cleaning up the cuts, stitching up the ones that are too deep and getting the glass out of his boyfriend's hands. Then he looks up at him. "I'll have to remove your mask now."

The hero nods. They both knew this was coming. Louis picks up the scissors again and starts cutting through the fabric of the mask. The medical student notices his hands are shaking slightly.

He peels the mask off the man's face and Louis finds himself staring into familiar green eyes. He gasps as he lets his eyes trail over the same nose he has seen so many times before, the same mouth, eyebrows... the same curly, brown hair.

"Harry?"

It's nothing more than a whisper, but it sounds so loud in the silent room.

Louis gets up after the first shock is over and turns away from him.

"Louis, wait. I can explain." Harry speaks up desperately in his own voice this time, making Louis huff. He grabs the bottle of whiskey from the table and tags a large gulp before crouching down beside the hurt man again.

"Hush, I have to clean up your face." He growls and all but pours the whiskey directly over Harry's face. He then takes the wad of cotton wool and starts dabbing on the cuts just a little too hard.

Harry stays quiet wisely as Louis takes care of the cuts and gathers his thoughts as he does so. It actually all makes sense now he thinks about it. The way Harry is never home, but Louis had never found him in the crowded library either. He had always thought he overlooked him. The way he seems to disappear from time to time...

"Why the hell would you be so angry about me dating the Emerald Guardian while you are him?" He asks suddenly. "Why be so against the superhero if you are him?" That's the part he doesn't understand. He pulls the cotton wool away from his roommate's face and stares into his eyes.

Harry hums. "Being against him would steer people away from thinking I am him." He says. "As for the other part... I didn't quite understand why I did that. But I kept getting jealous about you talking about the Emerald Guardian like that. Your crush on him, the way your eyes would light up when you talked about him like that."

Louis raises his eyebrow as Harry keeps rambling.

"I wish you would talk about me like that, but I thought I would have a bigger shot as my alter ego so I went with that." He reaches for Louis hand, smiling lopsidedly as he doesn't pull away but instead intertwines their fingers together.

Louis understands now, why Harry had looked so troubled before handing him the love letter. He knew he would be making Louis fall for his other identity.

"You big idiot, Hazza. I told you in the hospital about the flirting. You knew I flirted with you before. I just... I never thought I had a shot with you."

The hero sighs. "I didn't... Notice." He admits. "I'm a little bit oblivious when it comes to things like that."

Louis nods and a silence settles between the two of them. Louis decides to gently wipe the blood off of his hero.

"Lou?" Harry's voice breaks the silence. "Are we still together after this? Are you still my boyfriend?" His voice cracks a bit at the end and Louis can feel Harry's fear.

"Well, do you trust me?" Louis asks with a tiny smile.

Harry nods and looks at Louis in confusion.

"Close your eyes then." And as soon as the hero's eyes are closed, Louis cups his cheeks carefully and presses his lips to his boyfriend. He can feel Harry's smile on his lips and pulls away soon.

"You should rest." He tells him. "It's the middle of the night and you were shot." Louis looks at him sternly. "We will have to talk about that in the morning."

Harry groans. "Do we have to?" He asks, letting Louis help him up and move him to his bedroom.

"You could have died, Harry. Of course we have to." Louis shoots back and puts him on the bed slowly. "Try to sleep now. I'll go clean up quickly and join you after, okay?" He places a kiss on his boyfriend's forehead before leaving his room and closing the door.

Louis is almost finished cleaning up the mess next to his first aid kit when the front door to the apartment opens. He looks up surprised when Niall and Zayn come in. No, he realizes. They are sneaking in quietly. They have just picked the lock.

"Guys?" He asks confused.

They both stop frozen as they see they got caught.

"What are you doing here?" Louis speaks up again. He sees Niall pull a face to Zayn with a panicked look before answering.

"We came to, uh. Ah shit. To borrow your flour? We were baking a cake." Niall smiles nervously and nods his head at the same time Zayn starts chuckling.

"Sweetheart, look." He points at what is left of Harry's suit, which Louis is holding in his hands. "I think he knows."

Immediately Louis groans. "I should have known. The artful tech guy and the master of gossip. Of course you two were helping him."

Niall frowns. "We wanted to know how he is." He says. "We heard gunshots and his call of distress... The tech in his suit broke. We only had the transmitter to tell him where his suit went. Is he okay?"

Louis smiles at the concern of their friends and nods. "He got shot in the shoulder and got a few cuts, but he is safe. He is resting now. Why don't you two take Harry's room for now? It's late. We can all talk in the morning."

Zayn nods and says goodnight to Louis. He takes Niall to the spare bedroom and closes the door. Louis hums when he puts the medical kit away and places the torn up suit on the kitchen counter.

When he enters his room again, he hears the quiet snores from his boyfriend's lips. Louis strips down to his boxers and gets in bed with Harry. Slowly and carefully not to touch any of his wounds, he wraps his arms around the other man, who immediately cuddles closer to him. Louis smiles and lets happiness wash over him when he slowly falls asleep. 

---------------------------------------------------( 10 313 words)

Because I still love superheroes and writing is still a great thing to do 

xx Caliske xx 

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