#soft lt

Robbie tapped his chin, looking around him. It felt... off. He didn’t know why. Something was wrong with today’s trap.

Everything was at its place. The cage, the sugared apple, the disguise... he had outdone himself today. Finally, he would get rid of that blue kangaroo, forever. And things would be back to normal. No more running around, or screaming, or healthy sportscandy. Perfect.

It had been a whole fortnight since his last masterplan. Let’s say he had been... busy, before that. The hero had put into his own little head that he could befriend the villain. HA! Well, it hadn’t worked. They had spent, to Robbie’s increasing annoyance, a lot of time talking, and hanging out and, and- And he was still going to make him leave town!

So why didn’t he feel... excited? This is what he had always wanted. To be left alone. But, now that he thought of it, he had to admit... Not everything about Sportacus was bad.

Robbie huffed. He was still an annoying kangaroo, trying to force his healthy habits down other people’s throats, and he made the kids exercise and was so noisy. But... These past few days, there had been more. His nose twitched.

The hero, once the kids were busy playing some annoying game or other, would stay close to the villain and try to chat with him. He couldn’t stay still for long, so while Robbie was lying on a bench, he would do sit-ups on the floor next to him. Or he would save him from one of his failed inventions, and keep him in his arms for a bit, making sure he was alright. He would let himself inside his lair, asking if Robbie had eaten anything that day, and did he sleep well?

Sportacus, he had noticed, wasn’t always as enthusiastic as when he was with the kids. He would be active in a softer, calmer kind of way. He would shift from foot to foot, humming to himself, looking around the room, adding a few squats when he became too restless, or he would walk around aimlessly, talking about the weather, joking a bit as he did so, turning towards Robbie and smiling at him, looking up into his eyes, and his face would light up--

Whatever... The villain knew he had been tricked, some kind of elf magic had taken place in his head, and now he felt more than just irritation towards the hero.

It wasn’t the first time Robbie was unsure about his plan. He didn’t have the motivation anymore. The kids weren’t making that much noise, and anyway they brought him cake so it was fine. That Sportaflop wasn’t that bad, and... he would miss his laugh if he ever left.

It was a truth he needed to face.

With a sigh, he dropped the apple into the nearest bin, turned off his machine, and sat on the nearest bench. It would have been perfect: Sportacus would have come flippity flopping by, ready for the “picnic” he had invited Robbie to, and would have fallen right into his trap. And if not, the apple would have taken care of him. Perfect, except there was no need for that now.

Robbie wasn’t sure how to act anymore.

The slightly-above-average hero chose that exact moment to run towards him, with a bright smile plastered on his face.

“Hello, Robbie!”

“Hi, or something,” mumbled the villain.

“Ready for our date?” Sportacus stopped in front of him, hands on his hips. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to eat any sportscandy.”

The villain blushed, though he pretended not to notice. “If we must.”