Villain never liked the phrase "kill them with kindness" since it seemed so utterly unpractical. That was, until he decided to try it out on the hero...
It started small, catching hero off guard by giving them a hand up after knocking them down. A few compliments here and there that were more genuine than villain's usual mocking flirty quips that left the hero confused more than ever...
Soon, mysterious packages of food or other gifts began arriving at the door making hero feel more perceived than ever before even under the adoring light of their fame. Helping them with an injury or two and even going as far as to kidnap them for an entire week until they were rested again. Some excuse about needing their "mortal enemy" to be alive in order to defeat them. It was jarring in a way.
Soon enough, villain began noticing hero's injuries, the dark circles under their eyes, how their team truly didn't care for them. Villain also started to notice how their sudden care was breaking hero down, showing the cracks in their perfect facade with every bit of kindness, how their strikes were less powerful, the hesitation in their face when facing villain. Maybe the world hadn't been as kind to them either...
So maybe kindness did work, and soon enough it wouldn't matter whether or not villain got rid of hero or corrupted them to their side. Oh, because poor hero was already at the villain's door, clinging to them in a mess because at the end of the day it didn't matter if they were enemies.
They were all each other had.
