"Okay. Maybe it was a bad idea to take the stairs to the roof." I panted at the top of the stairwell, my leather suit clinging uncomfortably as sweat trickled down my spine. The lack of roof access mocked our escape attempt.

"Who wants to live through such a cliché movie scene, anyway?" Elijah's soft chuckle vibrated against the tender flesh of my neck, making me acutely aware that I still held him tightly. His prison-honed muscles tensed under my fingers.

I reluctantly let him go to scan for an escape route, but only a hallway of nondescript doors greeted us. "What do you think?" I asked, trying to steady my breathing. "Will it be door number one, two, or three? Or should we just play eeny, meeny, miny, moe?"

I peered behind door number one, revealing nothing more than a big closet. We seemed to be on an unused floor, storing a mishmash of things that weren't used for prisoners - broken chairs, outdated computers, and what looked suspiciously like a life-size cardboard cutout of Captain Celestial. Over the blaring alarm that was drilling into my skull, footsteps and voices rumbled down the hall.

"Get in," Elijah whispered, his hands warm on my back as he nudged me inside.

"I'm not going to hide..." Even though staying hidden was part of our supervillain code.

Elijah didn't listen. He maneuvered us both into the closet, his finger pressing against my lips in a shushing motion before closing the door, leaving us together in total darkness.

The small space amplified every sensation - Elijah's warm breath on my cheek, the rapid beating of my heart, the faint scent of ginger, cloves, and allspice that still clung to him despite a year in prison. Yup, complete pumpkin spice. Yum.

"Are we playing 7-minutes in heaven?" I whispered, my lips brushing his finger. "Because if we are, I'm not ready. I didn't even bring my strawberry lip gloss."

He shushed me again, but I could practically feel his smirk in the darkness.

Hannah’s voice crackled in the comm. “What’s going on?”

“Shh,” I snapped. “Not now. Kinda hiding in a closet.” Then I backed up, and got poked byy something. I smiled and whispered, defying Elijah’s attempt to shush me. "Is that a mop in my ass or are you excited to see me?" I snickered, trying to lighten the mood. It was that or panic, and neither of us needed that right now.

Elijah's soft chuckle rumbled through the darkness. It wasn't the evil laugh he'd unleashed downstairs. This one was deep and genuine, sending an inappropriate shiver down my spine. His voice dropped low, a sensual whisper that caressed my ear. "Well, I'm not sure about the mop in that tight little butt of yours, but I am excited to see you." He paused, listening to the voices in the hallway. Then he leaned in closer, his lips almost touching my ear. "Just not excited enough to share this experience with a mop. I have standards, you know."

I pulled away before my hands could betray me, fumbling around in the dark to get a sense of our surroundings. My fingers brushed against rough shelving, cleaning supplies, and what felt suspiciously like a feather duster. I felt Elijah's presence next to me, his breathing heavy. Or was that just me hyperventilating? Hard to tell in the pitch black.

"Well, that was a close one," Elijah whispered when the voices outside passed. "I'm glad you chose to save my sorry ass. Though I'm sure it's not as sorry as yours right now, pressed up against that mop bucket."

"I didn't choose anything," I hissed, trying to ignore how his proximity made my skin tingle. "You were our mission.”

"Downstairs, when your fellow villainesses were escaping, I saw you pause before you grabbed me away from the guards. You could have gotten away, and you knew it."

"And miss being trapped in a closet with you like we were fourteen? That'd been a shame. It's not like I have better things to do on a Tuesday night."

"You have to admit, this is kinda romantic," he teased, his voice low and playful.

"It's only your year of deprivation that's making you think this is romantic," I retorted, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through my body. "I'd prefer a box of chocolates and a bubble bath. You know, without the threat of imprisonment hanging over our heads."

Elijah's hand found mine in the darkness, intertwining my fingers with his calloused ones. A mixture of the need to pull away and the desire for him to touch more of my body seemed to tear me in two. Things between us were too far broken. He was broken and so was I.

And I could never forgive him.

Could he forgive me?

I didn't have time to answer that question before a pile of keys were pushed into my palm. "There should be a circular magnetic release that fits into an indentation on the cuffs," Elijah explained, his breath warm on my cheek.

I ran the keys through my fingers, my heart pounding so loud I was sure Elijah could hear it. I felt the jagged edge of at least a dozen keys before finding a device that felt like the stub of a pencil. "Maybe this?"

A warm hand cupped over mine, his fingers brushing against my skin as he felt what was between my fingers. "Yeah. That's it. Put it in the hole. And no sexual jokes, please. It's been a year locked up in here. I think one more thing out of your sexy mouth will cause me to lose control faster than my sonic boom."

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

His confession left me speechless, heat rising to my cheeks. Instead, I focused on our task, grateful for the darkness hiding my flushed face. I ran my fingers around the device on his wrists until I found the indentation he spoke of. I inserted the end of the magnet where it seemed to belong, and the entire cuff lit up a soft blue color, casting eerie shadows on Elijah's ragged face.

A beep echoed in the small space.

"Shit. Too loud," he whispered, tensing beside me.

But the cuff released with a satisfying click. "Mission accomplished. Do I get a gold star? Or maybe a 'get out of jail free' card?"

"So, you can fly?" Elijah whispered, changing the subject. His tone was a mix of awe and curiosity. "When did that happen? Or were you hiding your secret superpower from me all this time? Because if so, our honeymoon could have been way more interesting."

"It would be only fair, since you hid so much from me," I shot back, old hurt coloring my words.

"Hey, now is not the time to unleash our anger," Elijah said, his voice softening. "And I hid nothing from you. Things just... escalated... and there was no time to tell you the entire master plan. You know, between the explosions and the police sirens."

I sighed, the weight of the past year settling on my shoulders. "Fine. You know the Superhero's missile diversion that blew up WynGlo Chemical right after you went to prison? Well, not only did I lose Ellie in that explosion, but I was out in the parking lot, waiting to have lunch with her. When the chemicals rained down, I got my little gift. Surprise!”

"Hmm. And your team of henchwomen?"

"Not henchwomen," I corrected, a hint of pride in my voice. "We are all equal partners in this. We all were affected by that explosion. Think of us more as a really niche support group with a flair for leather."

"Wow." Elijah's voice was still soft, tinged with regret. "I'm sorry I wasn't there when this all happened. It tore me up not being there to hold you when you lost Ellie, but knowing you were going through these changes too..."

"Stop. I don't need your sympathy. I had my girls—" Footsteps echoed from outside and we froze, barely breathing. The closeness of the space suddenly felt suffocating, Elijah's body heat seeping through my suit.

Once the footsteps faded, Elijah whispered, "Is flying your only power.”

“Oh no. I have a great backup skill that we're using right now: pretending to be fantastic at hide and seek and hoping the guards don't find us. Sorry to disappoint you, but yeah. That's all I can do. No x-ray vision or ice breath. Just your average, everyday flying ex-wife."

"Trust me. It's not a disappointment. I was just calculating our escape. Though I wouldn't say no to ice breath.”

Outside the closet, the voices grew again. Elijah once again put a finger to my lips, still illuminated by the glow of the handcuff with the magnet stuck in its spot, and whispered, "Shh."

This time, I didn't argue. If I had to be honest, being trapped in a closet with Elijah wasn't the worst thing in the world. But Elijah had other plans than just to make goo-goo eyes at me in the dark. He took the magnet from the free cuff and released the other one, causing a beep that made me cringe with the prison workers right outside our door.

"Ready?" He whispered, excitement thrumming through his voice.

"Fuck no!" I hissed back. Didn't I just tell him that my only skill was flying? "I'm not invincible. In fact, my shoulder already hurts from the collision with the ceiling.”

But he didn't listen. Like always. Instead, he swung the door open and clapped his hands softly, sending a sonic wave directly at the two guards standing in the hallway. They flew back twenty feet, crashing into the wall with twin grunts of surprise.

"Door number three it is!" He grabbed my hand, his grip warm and sure, and raced us down the hallway. We ducked into the room at the corner, an office bathed in moonlight streaming through the window. "You can fly us outta here?" He asked, his eyes sparkling with a mix of mischief and hope.

As soon as I nodded, he clapped his hands, causing the window in front of us to rain down broken glass like a sparkly, deadly waterfall.

"Good. Then let's go.”

No sooner did he say that, did I have his body wrapped around mine as I dove out the window into the rain. I welcomed the coolness since my body instantly heated with Elijah so close, his arms locked around my waist.

The rain was coming down in sheets, which was perfect for a getaway. "Thanks Hannah," I said into my comm, appreciative of our team even if they weren't right beside me. I could almost hear her smug "you're welcome" in response.

The rain was both good for an escape, but also for a surprise attack. Out of the darkness, a glowing Golden Guardian appeared from nowhere, like a disco ball with a vengeance. Maybe I should have seen him sooner. Or maybe I was too distracted by Elijah's arms around me. Either way, he plowed into my body, causing me to lose my focus and tumble towards the earth.

And then, just as I slowed our fall, a boom and a piercing pain shot through my backside. It was a moment before the unbelievable pain hit me, causing my levitation power to slowly drain away like air from a punctured balloon. Elijah hung on tight as we tumbled from the sky, his grip the only thing keeping me from completely losing it.

"Emily, what's going on?" he tapped my cheek, trying to wake me up from some trance. I was there, but I had retreated into my mind, probably looking for a happy place without bullets in my butt. "Ems. Darling. Come on. This is no time for a nap."

Darling? He had used his pet name for me earlier, but it was spiteful. Now it was sweet enough to snap me back in the moment just before we pummeled the ground. I swept us up slightly, flying through the trees to stay hidden as we escaped somewhere into the forest around the penitentiary. When all my energy was gone and my feet hit the ground, I collapsed.

Too much exertion.

Too much pain.

Too much Elijah.

I quickly rolled over from the shooting pain from my backside. My butt was up in the air while I planted my face on a bed of pine needles, like a damn ostrich.

Elijah's hands palpated my ass, and I was too tired to stop him. "Hey Ems, don't panic, but you've been shot."

No shit.

“What gave it away? The bullet hole or my impromptu forest floor faceplant?”

And the worst part?

It was right in my perfectly heart-shaped buttocks. The buttocks I'd spent countless hours sculpting in the gym, now with an unwanted piercing.

Elijah pushed on my firm cheek, his touch sending conflicting signals of pain and... something else through my body. "Let me look."

"Ha!" I mumbled into the pine needles, my voice muffled by the forest floor.

I was wrong, getting shot wasn't the worst part.

Having to bare my ass to Elijah under these conditions was.

As Elijah's hands gently probed the injury, I couldn't help but think that this was not how I imagined our reunion going. Then again, with our history, maybe I should have expected nothing less than chaos, gunshots, and inappropriately timed butt touches.

Just another action-packed night for Emily and Elijah, the world's most dysfunctional supervillain couple.