A masked superhero saves your life!
Requested by @BibliophilicPrincess
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After a long day of work, you left your office later than usual, after the sun had set. Even though there were lights and bright store and restaurant signs drenching parts of the sidewalk in light, you still felt uneasy. You were only a young woman hurrying home by herself—in other words, you were the perfect prey to any sort of criminal. You vigilantly checked each alley as you walked past it, rushing to get back to your apartment safely and climb into bed.

As you walked past one particularly dark alleyway, however, you felt a big hand grab your arm and yank you around the corner, causing you to stumble and slightly twist your ankle as you tripped in your heels. As your ankle screamed with pain and your heart raced, you were shoved against a dirty wall by your assailant.

A dark face loomed in front of you, and you held your breath as your lungs suffered from the stench of foul cigarette smoke and garbage drifting from the grotesque depths of the alley. "Ooh, look what I found! A lovely lady who is willing to donate some of her money!"

The man reached for your purse, but you pushed his hand away and held onto your purse tightly. You worked damn hard for that money and you weren't going to just give it up! "Please leave me alone," you said sternly and tried to wrestle yourself out of his grasp.

He held onto you tightly, though, and restricted your movements. "Don't try to fight unless you want things to end up worse for you." The man's voice grew darker and more ominous, and you saw more shadows appear behind him. You instantly knew that you were outnumbered, and all hope that you had of escape felt lost.

"Take off her heels and see what brand they are. They look expensive," the man barked. The men approached you and roughly yanked one of your heels of your feet.

"Help! Someone he—"

Your cries were cut off by a hand at your throat. "Don't make this hard for us. You'll be dead before you know it." The threat, as well as the increasing pressure of the hand around your neck made your eyes tear up.

You let out a strangled cry as you felt your consciousness start to wane. The man reached for your purse once again and started rooting through it for your wallet. When you reached your hand out towards him, he squeezed your neck even harder, making you cough dryly and struggle for air.

Suddenly, you heard the slamming sound of a body hitting the ground, followed by shouts. You looked through your tears to see the men standing around drop like flies. Before you could understand what was happening, the pressure at your neck disappeared, as well as the hands holding you back against the wall, and you sunk down to the ground, coughing and wheezing. The dark corners that had crept in at the edges of your vision began to disappear as you looked up to see what was going on.

Another body fell to the ground, and you examined the one person standing nearby. The only thing you could really see, however, was the bright set of green eyes piercing through the darkness. As you looked into those eyes, you felt a wave of reassurance wash over you. You were safe.

The man standing in front of you was none other than the superhero who went by the simple name of Nocturne. His job was to fight the evil lurking in the streets of the city during the night, and his owl-like appearance only added to the nocturnal nature of his duties.

He hardly made any noise as he walked over to you and kneeled down next to you, putting a hand on your arm and helping you to your feet ever so gently. He picked up your purse and placed the strap around your shoulder before picking up your shoe and sliding it back onto your foot.

Your heart fluttered in your chest at his chivalrous behavior, and your breathing soon returned to normal. His calming presence had helped you regain your bearings.

"Are you injured, miss?" the hero's soft voice spoke.

You nodded and looked down at your ankle, which was now swollen and throbbing with intense pain. Nocturne surveyed the scene for any of your belongings before grabbing your legs and lifting you up into his arms.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights," he commented.

You didn't have time to react before you heard some kind of mechanical sound and saw a pair of wings sprout out from his back. He then leapt up into the air and took to the skies, flying over the tops of buildings as he delivered you back to your home.

You were terrified of heights, causing you to bury your face in his chest, feeling the strange fabric of his suit against your skin. You'd only heard legends about this man—you had no idea that he actually existed. He wasn't the kind of superhero who got pictures taken of him or who was all over the news, but he helped keep the streets safe. Getting to see him was something of a dream to you.

"Where do you live? I'll take you home, miss."

You told him what apartment complex you lived in, and he courteously landed on the fire escape on your floor and carried you inside. You unlocked the door to your apartment while he held you in his arms, and he opened the door before putting you down on your couch.

Without saying another word, he took your shoe off of your injured foot and grabbed an ice pack from your freezer and a roll of bandages from your bathroom. He then placed your foot on the armrest of your couch, wrapped it, and placed the ice on top.

He did all of these things so effortlessly and naturally that it made you think that he knew how to treat these wounds since he'd seen them so often and where to find the items in homes to treat it since he'd helped so many people.

"Thank you so much," you sighed, your voice still slightly hoarse. He nodded in response and brushed your (h/l) hair away from your face before walking out of your apartment and closing the door behind him.

The suddenness of his tender touch on your face made you blush and touch your face yourself.

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You'd spent the entire night wracking your brain, trying to think of who Nocturne really was. When you'd woken up the next morning, you'd called your neighbor and asked them for a set of crutches, which they happily lent to you. Even though you couldn't get your mind off your masked hero or the pain in your ankle, you couldn't miss work.

After you'd gotten ready for work, you hobbled over to the door and gone to work using your crutches. Once you'd arrived, coworkers swarmed you and asked you what had happened, but you lied and said that you'd merely fallen. You hadn't wanted to worry anyone.

When you got to your office, you sat down at your desk, resting the crutches on the wall next to you and leaning back in your chair.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at your office door, disturbing you from your work. You allowed the person in, and your best friend—and coworker—entered.

"How are you feeling today, (f/n)?" he asked gently as he walked over to your desk and leaned over it, looking at you with his green eyes.

You felt a dull alarm go off in your head. Something about Akaashi was making your heart race more than usual. Sure, you'd had a crush on him since high school, but there was something about him that was making your mind reel.

He gave you an inquisitive look when his greeting was met with silence, and he examined the bruise that he saw on your neck peeking out from over the top of your shirt collar. He thought for a moment, checked his surroundings, and then made a risky move. "Those men didn't give you too much trouble last night, did they?" he asked with a sterner voice than usual.

You gazed into his troubled eyes as the gears started to turn in your head. "K...Keiji...? Was that...?" you gasped quietly. There was no other way that he could know about that. "You're N—"

He quickly leaned over your desk and quieted you by pressing a kiss against your lips. "Don't say anything. It'll just be our little secret, okay?" he whispered, his breath sending excited tingles down your spine as you blushed wildly.

"B-But—"

He kissed you again before pulling away from you and pushing strands of your hair away from your face. "Make sure to keep your foot elevated," he instructed simply. He planted another fleeting kiss on your forehead before turning around and heading for the door.

With that, he left your office just as quickly and mysteriously as he had left your apartment last night under the name of a superhero.