#a silent guardian...a watchful protector..

Luckily for you, you had a man who was roughly six feet tall, with a piercing gaze and broad muscles. In other words, Benjamin Poindexter.

He was always by your side when you needed him most. He'd place a hand on your lower back as you walked down the street, take your arm as you crossed the street, and so on. And all you had to worry about was looking ahead and smiling, because your boyfriend would do all the work for you. With a single, killer glare, he kept the ill-intentioned at bay.

What you didn't know is that your boyfriend was actually a masked assassin who, luckily, was trying to balance the scales by only killing bad people. Something's better than nothing, right?

You thought he simply worked in an office, as he once told you. And that he occasionally ran errands and helped the neighbors, like the good citizen he was, which touched you deeply. The only thing that sometimes seemed strange to you was that he occasionally came home very late, sometimes even with bruises and cuts. But Dex would allay your worries by simply saying that he had bumped into something or that someone had tried to mug him, which didn't completely reassure you, but you trusted him.

Dex couldn't tell you the truth. He was afraid you'd reject him and run away. He didn't want to change your perspective of him. To you, Dex was your guardian angel, your protector, your bodyguard, and so on—someone important you could trust. That's why he helped you whenever he could... in his own way.

A few weeks ago, as usual, the two of you sat on the couch watching TV while you told him about your day and interests. That day he learned about karma.

"So basically it's a law of cause and effect. Everything you say or do will have a consequence; it's a natural law of life. If you did something bad, life will give you back what you gave—that's karma. But if you've done good deeds, you'll get good rewards! And that's called dharma. Isn't that interesting?" you exclaim, gesturing enthusiastically as you rest your outstretched legs in his lap.

Dex was looking at you instead of the TV as his calloused hands caressed your calves. He nodded silently, lost in thought, at everything you said. Karma and Dharma. That gave him something to think about.

From that day on, your boyfriend would start doing little things for you. He would act like an omnipresent and protective being. You were his North Star, his most precious person, and the sweetest and kindest worm he had ever known. How could he not protect you? So, every time you walked alone, he would secretly follow you, just to notice how a man on the street had been incredibly rude to you simply because you had accidentally bumped into him in a moment of distraction. And when you arrived home, sadly recounting your misfortune, he would listen with a tense jaw, even though he already knew because he had seen it with his own eyes. The next day, you would happen to learn from the newspaper that a flowerpot had fallen on the same man's head in the middle of the street, the result of a mysterious hand pushing the pot (accidentally?), although no one saw anything. Oops!. Luckily, the man didn't die; he only suffered a concussion.

And so the days passed, with Dex there to teach everyone who had wronged you a lesson. Like you said, bad actions have bad consequences, right? It's just that he couldn't wait for karma to take its course. He was faster and had better aim.

Once, you and Dex were waiting in line at the bank when someone pushed their way in front of you. You tried to tell him you were there first, but he ignored you. Your boyfriend, feigning indifference, started whistling as he discreetly took a coin from his pocket. When he saw a girl rollerblading by, he tossed the coin toward her skates without anyone noticing. This caused her to trip and bump into the man in front of you, knocking him to the ground. As he fell, the man hit his nose and, with a grunt, pinched the bridge to stop the bleeding. The woman, very upset, offered to take him to the hospital. This made the place in line in front of you empty again. Boom, butterfly effect. The corner of Dex's lip turned up in a small smirk as you watched everything with wide eyes, completely unaware of your boyfriend's antics.

And not only that, Dex also wanted to reward you for being such a good person. He noticed when you gave alms to homeless people or returned a toy a child had lost in the street. So, without you even realizing it, he'd drop your favorite candy into your bag or pockets, or you'd unexpectedly find money in your wallet.

"DEX, DEX, DEX!" you came running in one day like a madwoman, gesturing wildly. He turned around, slightly startled.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sounding somewhat worried.

"You won't believe what happened today! I was going to the supermarket and there was an elderly lady coming out with a really heavy bag. Suddenly the bag ripped open and all the oranges and apples rolled out. You can't imagine how upset she was, poor thing! Luckily I was able to help her pick up all the fruit, although I had to chase one orange for a whole block!" You laugh softly. "But that's not all! After I finished buying what I needed, I found... this!" you exclaim, pulling something out of your tote bag.

Wrapped in tissue paper was a delicate pink hibiscus flower with a yellow center. The tissue had kept it fresh.

"Isn't it beautiful!" you say enthusiastically. "It was lying right in front of me on the sidewalk even though there wasn't a hibiscus tree nearby. I think it was a gift from the universe!"

Dex chuckled softly and took the flower between his fingers. The one he himself had picked from the tree near a house and placed on the sidewalk where he knew you would pass. With a ceremonious slowness, he raised his hand and placed the flower behind your ear, pausing a little longer than necessary.

"It's just what you deserve..." he murmured, and his thumb slid down to caress your cheek.

You smiled shyly, shrugging your shoulders and clicking your tongue while swatting away a fly, dismissing it as unimportant. Then you led your boyfriend by the hand toward the sofa.

"Oh, and now comes the funniest part..." you continue. "Yesterday I went to that bar we saw the other day, remember? And well... A man accidentally spilled his drink on me, soaking my new blouse," you say shyly, rubbing one shoulder. "He also swore to me a bit, but I think he was too drunk." You shake your head and look at him. "Anyway, the thing is, when I left there I heard that man yelling, complaining that his car had been damaged. Someone had slashed all four tires! Can you believe it?!"

Dex feigned surprise, raising his eyebrows once. Oh, of course he could believe it. He'd been there himself, lurking like a cat in the shadows, watching everything through his rifle scope. He hadn't even had to be close to throw his knives at the tires of that idiot's car.

And so the days went by, with each time someone bothered you, something bad happening to them, and in return for that mistreatment, something good coming your way. Scratched cars, broken bones, sprains for various people, and for you, flowers, sweets, found banknotes, even a bubble show floating through the sky. And when you returned home, he had to listen to you talk about something he already knew, and it broke his heart a little to see you speak so timidly and humbly about something that had bothered you but that you hadn't taken seriously. It didn't matter; if it didn't care you, he would still be there to make you feel better, like an invisible, benevolent hand.

But every plan has a flaw. I don't know how, but one day you discovered him, you uncovered his tricks. Perhaps you put two and two together, perhaps he had been careless and you had noticed him slipping a candy into your tote bag. Whatever the reason, now he couldn't escape and would have to face the consequences.

"Dex..." you said one day in a slightly reproachful tone while you were standing with your arms crossed in the middle of the room

He turned away, feigning indifference, chin held high. "Yes?" he murmured softly.

"I know it was you..." you say, taking a step closer to him.

"What are you talking about?" he asks, playing dumb.

You sigh, "I know you were leaving me gifts... and not only that, you were also the one who hurt the people who made me feel bad, right?"

"Hurt is a strong word..." he said with a grimace.

"Dex, a man literally ended up in the hospital..."

He shrugged. "It was just a broken leg"

You look at him, tilting your head and putting your hands on your hips. "Listen, I don't know how you did it, but you didn't have to..."

"No, I think so," he says, taking a step forward and closing the distance. "Do you think I like knowing that someone made you feel bad just because you were too kind to stand up for yourself? Do you know how that makes me feel? Knowing that some bastard yelled at you for no reason?" he says hoarsely, his jaw tense.

You noticed he was upset, but not with you. And that protective instinct gave you a tingle in your chest. Then he lowered his gaze to take your hands.

"I was just... just trying to protect you. You're... a really sweet person. You didn't deserve all those bad things," he said in a softer tone, looking into your eyes.

Hearing him speak like that, a touched pout trembled on your lower lip. Your gaze softened and became tender. In a flash, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, embracing his neck. Dex grunted in surprise but wrapped his arms around your back, rubbing circles.

"You're a sweet and good person too, Dex... in your own way," you murmur with a small chuckle.

With everything cleared up, the days passed, and Dex no longer interfered so much in your life with all that talk of karma and dharma. Although he still stuck close to you, and if anyone bothered you again, he personally defended you verbally. However, you had learned to raise your voice and demand respect, even if only a little.

But one day, as he was leaving for work, he put his Bullseye suit in his bag. And while rearranging things to make room, he found a neatly folded tissue. Dex didn't remember putting that there. Carefully, he unfolded it and found a small note next to a tiny cherry blossom. Frowning, he read the note in your handwriting.

This game can be played by two people. I think you also deserve a reward for your good deeds ;)