Okay, so 'Moonlighting Hero' was originally a lone plot bunny. But it got a lot of love, and I very much enjoy producing stories that get a lot of love. While there is a separate plot bunny I'm currently nurturing on the side that includes Hero!Alfred, it will be a long time in coming. I don't like leaving stories to sit for extended periods, and I don't like being on the receiving end of such things, so I'm striving to make sure they're finished or very close to it before I start publishing them, long or no.

Be advised, there is a lemon in this story, and seeings as FanFiction doesn't like lemons, you'll need to go to my AO3 account if you want the full story. I have the same name, and I publish my stories on both sites at the same time. I'm sorry I can't provide a link, but it doesn't show up when I try to copy-paste it here. :(

Without further ado, enjoy! :)

Alfred was perched in what he liked to consider his lookout post, the attic of an old apartment building. It was condemned now, only sheltering the homeless, but thanks to those infamous budget cuts it was still far from the top of the city's demolition list. For that Alfred was grateful. It had an awesome vantage point, not to mention got a good signal on the police scanner.

So far, he was feeling pretty good about that night. It wasn't even midnight yet, and he'd thwarted a purse snatcher and a would-be car jacker. Both were already being processed at the local precinct, thank you very much.

Alfred, or Major Hero as he called himself, considered this a good omen. Okay, so a lot of the news and blogs called him 'Sergeant America' or 'Captain Constitution', but he was working on that. He had made up the name Major Hero himself and was quite proud of it. Even Arthur had cocked a skeptical brow at him when he'd first declared his name, though. Alfred had defended himself avidly, insisting, "Come on, Artie, it's a legit military rank and you know it. I'm Major Hero, and a major hero. Either way, it works."

His partner had rolled his eyes, but let the matter go. If nothing else, at least Arthur referred to his alter ego as Major Hero. Alfred was still trying to convince Kiku, one of his best friends and a closet technopad, to blog it. Kiku already ran several other blogs, all legitimate news reports, ranging from stocks to video games. As of yet he hadn't had much luck, but Alfred was nothing if not persistent.

"Major Hero. It's catchy," muttered Alfred, jiggling the volume on the police scanner. "Watcha' got for me tonight, Middleton?"

At first there were just a few check in reports mixed with static. Alfred was about to turn down the volume again, try again after a few minutes, when a urgent-sounding voice came clearly through the static.

"All units, we have armed gunmen in the Middleton Central Mall. I repeat, we have armed gunmen in Middleton Central Mall. Five suspects have taken fifteen hostages. All units please respond. Immediate assistance requested."

Alfred barely remembered to shove the police scanner under the window before scrambling out. He felt giddy and exited and nervous all at the same time. He knew this was dangerous and people could easily get hurt, but he couldn't help it. Sure they had robberies and gunfights, but nothing this big! Middleton Central Mall was a hub both socially and economically. It was open until midnight, so there were bound to be lots of people and lots of money, but security was well maintained, so the only times Alfred had gone there for hero business was for things like petty theft in the parking lot.

Major Hero couldn't fly, but he could run and he could jump. Alfred had mastered the art of super-parkour, bounding from rooftop to rooftop, building to building, making his way downtown. As he moved, something tickled in the back of his mind. There was something about the mall he should be remembering, but he wasn't sure what.

After a few minutes of trying to grasp it, and almost falling off the top of a ten story building because of it, Alfred let it go. He had to keep his mind on his work, he couldn't get distracted. Especially not now. Maybe now people would finally get his name right.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

By the time Major Hero got there, the mall was swarming with police. He circled around back, slipping through the less crowded loading dock as the news vans whipped up to the police line. Getting in was surprisingly easy, once he got passed the main line of cops. They'd already set up their perimeter, and were assuming no one would be stupid enough to go inside now.

Alfred, however, wasn't just anyone. He was Major Hero. Protector of justice.

Once inside, he forced himself to slow down to a brisk walk. He'd taken his time when getting passed the cops, and had managed to pick up that the hostages were being held in the center of the mall. It was a three story tall congregation area, with a fountain in the middle. A skylight overlooked three stories of balconies, and there were no tall buildings around to place a sniper in. Unless they managed to get a man inside to take a shot, they were out of luck. Even then, it wouldn't really be worth it since there was obviously more than one. Alfred had seen three making rounds of the now empty mall, all of whom were armed with AK-47's. It took a high power gun and close range for a bullet to penetrate the toughened skin of Major Hero, but it had still been done before, and assault rifles meant he'd better keep his distance for the time being. Alfred itched to take down the men he'd avoided, but they also had walky-talkies. If they didn't check in their boss might get cranky, and cranky didn't mix with guns and hostages.

Alfred finally reached the edge of the mall's center, slipping into one of the shops that had a glass wall facing it. He put his back to the store front, and carefully peered through the glass. He almost reached up out of habit to push his glasses up on his nose, barely remembering in time to not lift his hand. It was something of a tick that came out when he was thinking, even when he wasn't actually wearing glasses. Major Hero couldn't wear glasses. He did, however, wear prescription sports goggles. Not that he told anyone that, they were totally just part of the costume.

"Cell phones out! Now!"

Alfred peered out as the speaker barked out the order, frowning. The first man in black street clothes and medical face mask was aiming his AK-47 around himself at the ground, where Alfred assumed the hostages were. He heard the clatter as they fumbled to obey. Another gunman came around, collecting them in a bag and tossing them into the fountain. A third stood watch from the second floor.

Major Hero set his mouth grimly. No good. He needed a better look before he did anything. He didn't like leaving things as they were, but things got tricky when there were multiple bad guys. He might be able to lure the gunmen away, if he got creative, but he also didn't know just how willing their leader was to start killing hostages.

As he started to slip away, making for the third floor, he heard the lead gunman start talking again. "Good. Now you're all going to lay here and keep your heads down. Assuming the police cooperate long enough for us to get what we came here for, no one has to get hurt."

Alfred's mind was racing as he took the stairs as quickly and quietly as he could. He'd come to figure out a few things by default when he'd started into the vigilante business. One of which was where bank trucks tended to make their rounds and when. The blond had to admit that gunmen had done their homework. Today was Monday. The bank truck stopped here tomorrow morning. There would be a lot of cash here right now, even if most of it was locked away. Which might explain the hostages, now that Alfred thought about it. There was a lot to be had, but not if you had to get enough people to bust into over a hundred stores and restaurants in the seven hours the mall was completely closed. Aside from the movie theater that had its own entrance, the last store shut at midnight and the first one opened at seven the next morning. Unless you were willing to kill of the manpower you didn't want to pay, it could easily take twice that long to clear everything out. Not to mention the several jewelry stores the mall sported, and electronic stores.

Major Hero managed to get to the third floor unseen, and was finally able to get a look at the situation. It took a few minutes, but at least he still had surprise on his side. He took a quick scan of the hostages, and for the first time since he'd taken a bullet to the arm, Alfred felt terror course through him.

It was bad enough there was a kid, maybe eight or nine, among those on their stomachs, noses pressed to the tile. Six women, eight men, all unlucky enough not to get away before the gunmen had put the area on lockdown. The kid's mother was practically on top of him, protecting him as best she could. That said, Alfred's eyes were still drawn to the person next to the fountain. His head was down too, but Alfred didn't need to see his face.

The moment he saw him, the memory Alfred had given up searching for crashed to the front of his mind. That morning, as he struggled through a bowl of cereal, half asleep, Arthur had been talking to him, as usual. Arthur usually took advantage of the usually chatty blonds' silence to relay needed info before heading off to work, and that morning had been no different. As he poured boiling water into a travel mug he'd said, "By the way, if you decide to skip the hero work tonight don't wait up for me. A client wanted to meet up at the mall tonight. The man is an irritating bugger but he's one of the best we've got. While I'm there I might as well find a present for Peter. You will make his party, by the way."

Alfred had grunted his vague assent. Arthur had sighed, but kissed his cheek and gathered his things.

Major Hero wasn't sure who he wanted to throttle more, the gunman for causing this mess or Arthur for getting himself mixed up in it all. He was an agent at a publisher's firm for pities sake! A nice, safe, and in Alfred's opinion, boring job. The most interesting part of his job was that the head of the firm seemed to send Arthur the craziest authors they employed. It would certainly explain why Arthur was here so late.

Vowing to save them, if only so he could kill Arthur himself, Major Hero stalked back into the depths of the mall.

BREAK/BREAK\BREAK

Arthur couldn't say he was having the best of days. Alfred had come home particularly late the night before, and had barely been awake that morning. He'd been buried in messages and mail that had piled up over the weekend, which was typical of Monday's. On top of that he'd had three meetings with clients, not counting the oddball who insisted on doing business in the mall food court at nine o'clock sharp. As much as it irritated him, Arthur's boss insisted that they cater to the particularities if only because the weirdest ones were always the most successful. Only the fact that the same boss insisted he was the best at handling them kept Arthur from demanding a trade on a regular basis.

He'd finally gotten what he'd needed out of the author, and had been about to search for an appropriate store to find a present for his younger brother, when what little remained of his day went to hell.

If it wasn't for the kid he'd seen shoved under his mother, Arthur would have had other things to worry about besides the gun being waved in his face. He was all too aware that Alfred would be listening to that stupid police scanner, and he'd never miss a crime like this in a million years. Arthur loved him, really, but the man was impulsive and had a hero complex a mile wide. If the not-yet-famed Major Hero showed up things would go very bad very quickly.

Then the bloody git had to go and throw his phone into the water, adding insult to injury. Arthur knew he should be afraid, and he was, just not for himself. He lay there, fuming at his own helplessness, when the leader of the ski mask brigade clicked on his walkie-talkie.

"Three four and five, report."

"Three, all clear."

"Four, all clear."

"Five, all clear."

"Good. Get back here and get to work."

Seconds seemed to crawl passed. It felt like Arthur was laying there for an eternity before the gunman growled in irritation. He clicked the walkie-talkie back on, barking, "Three four and five, where the hell are you?"

No answer. Only static. Arthur stiffened. Bloody hell. When he doesn't stop to showboat...those three aren't dead, are they? They'd better not be in anything worse than a coma or I'll have to have words with him. Unless of course then they start shooting.

"Report!"

Still nothing.

"Want me to go find 'em?" asked the second gunman.

The first one didn't answer, but there was the quick retreating of heavy boots. Arthur tilted his head very slowly, easing his nose off the tile until he could just make out the head gunman's figure. He looked tense, pacing among the hostages. Arthur dropped his eyes when the man passed him, heart pounding in his chest.

Moments later, everyone, save for the gunman, jumped as a generic phone tone went off. The gunman swore yet again, barking out, "This the negotiator?" a second later.

There was a pause, and Arthur twitched as he laughed. "Terms? I don't have any terms. Just that you keep your distance. Don't send anyone in and no one gets shot. Call your men off and I might just send out the kid." Another pause, and then in a dangerous tone he asked, "You expect me to believe that? Call them off or I start shooting."

Arthur's heart sank, his mind racing. For quite possibly the first time in his life, Arthur envied Alfred's powers. He knew his partner hadn't had is easy, but at least he was able to do something.

"Fine, maybe a body will convince you."

"I really wouldn't."

The words were out his mouth before they filtered through his brain. But even as he said them, Arthur felt terror claw at his stomach. He lifted his head in time to see the lead gunman hang up, turning a narrowed gaze onto him.

"Why not?" he asked coldly, aiming his gun at Arthur's forehead.

Folding his arms on the tile, feigning ease he most defiantly didn't feel, Arthur smirked. "You really think the police would make a move so soon?"

"If it's not the cops, then who is it?"

"Someone who should worry you a lot more."

The gunman took a step closer. "I doubt that."

"You're four men down, you idiot. We're the best chance you've got of getting out of here. Forget whatever it was you wanted to steal, lad, you'll be lucky to leave with your life."

"Four?"

"Don't you think that man should have reported back by now? Pity, that."

The gunman marched forward, grabbing him by the arm and hauling him roughly to his feet, sticking the barrel of the gun under his chin. "Start talking, and if I'm in a good enough mood when you're done I might not blow your brains out."

"That's hardly motivation. How about agreeing to refrain from blowing my brains out entirely? And don't let your temper get the best of you, if you pull that trigger now my information dies with me."

Rather than answer, the man simply redirected the gun onto the nearest hostage. Unfortunately, it was the child's mother.

"You are aware this city is home to numerous vigilantes, yes? I don't suppose you've heard of Major Hero yet?"

He felt the man go ridged at the word 'vigilante'. Arthur couldn't blame them. As a general rule criminals were a little more weary of them than the average cop. They tended to be less predictable, and depending on the Super, more deadly. The cops had regulations, could be predicted. Supers, vigilante's with powers, not so much.

"What kind of vigilante?" asked the man darkly.

"The Super kind. If you let the child go he might go easy on you."

"And if I don't?"

"I won't."

The gun went up to the second floor in a heartbeat, aiming at the man vaulting down over the railing, landing lightly. The gunman that had been on guard now lay in a heap of black cloth. If Arthur was right, he was the last one. Normally he'd glad, but the grip on his arm tightened painfully.

"Two months of preparation are not going to go down the drain because of one Super," the gunman growled.

Alfred didn't answer. Arthur let himself go limp, dragging at the gunman's free arm. The man barely had time to open his mouth before Alfred darted forward, his super speed allowing him to get close and grab the gun barrel before the man could pull the trigger. As it was, he got it up, pointing it at the upper levels before the shot could be fired. Even then, he only got in one shot before Alfred wrenched the gun away, tossing it into the fountain and grabbing the man by the throat. Instantly he let go of Arthur, clawing at the iron hand lifting him up to his toes.

"Go, run," Major Hero barked at the hostages. "The police are outside. Now!"

The hostages fled as fast as they could scramble to their feet. Arthur hesitated though, eyeing Major Hero worriedly. It was hard to get a solid read on his face, between the goggles and suit. It was designed like a diver's wetsuit, covering everything save for part of his face, an extra band that covered it from the temples up.

"Go," the Super ordered, not looking at Arthur.

The gunman's toes left the floor. He thrashed, clawing at the hand and arm holding him, with no affect. Major Hero wasn't showing any signs of letting him go.

"Did you kill the others?" asked Arthur stiffly.

"No," stated Major Hero, tone icy.

"Do you plan to kill him?"

"Maybe. I should. They pointed a gun to you and a kid."

"No, you shouldn't," said Arthur, stepping forward. While it was hardly as heroic as swooping in and saving the day with super powers or karate, at least this was something he was capable of doing.

Major Hero didn't move as Arthur put his hands on his shoulders. They were ridged, muscle bunched tightly, every line of the Super screaming barely contained rage. Any other time Arthur would have joined the run to the exit, but he hadn't spent the last three years around Alfred for nothing. He might have only been in a relationship with him for two of those years, but he knew how to read the man.

"Is that really what you want? This is Major Hero's first big act, it'll get the press you want. Do you really want to add a death to that article? You know they jump all over things like that. You'll be turned into an antihero, at least."

The gunman had gone limp. But slowly, reluctantly, Major Hero loosened his grip enough for the man to fall to the floor. He didn't move, still unconscious, but at least he was breathing. Arthur relaxed, resting his forehead against Major Hero's back.

"Bloody hell, I don't know how you do this. How long until-

Arthur's words were cut off as he was swept up, Major Hero running at super speed through the mall. At least he had the sense to take a break once they were passed the police line, letting Arthur gasp for breath. Decided to put off his protests about being held bridle style until later, Arthur punched the Super's chest as he heaved air into his crushed lungs.

"A little warning!" he gasped.

"Sorry Iggy. Ready for round two?"

"I prefer the other context, thank you very much," grumbled Arthur. Even so, he wrapped his arms around Major Hero's neck, bracing his forehead against his shoulder, and took a deep breath.

Major Hero made a short sprint to the nearest city block of downtown, five miles away, and switched to super strength. Arthur, now able to breathe properly, unburied his face, watching as they all but flew across the rooftops.

"Alright, this I understand," he said between bounds.

Major Hero still kept quiet, which worried Arthur a little. "Are you alright, love?"

Still no answer.

Resigned, and knowing it was another ten miles to their apartment, Arthur decided to just enjoy the sensation of semi-flying. Major Hero stopped when they reached the area of taller, older buildings to switch Arthur to his back. He still kept his silent though, checking to make sure Arthur had a good grip before continuing on.

By the time he was slipping them in through the window, Arthur was windblown and no less relaxed than when they'd started. As soon as Alfred yanked the window shut, locking it, he demanded, "What is wrong with you? Why aren't you- Alfred! You bloody twit, put me down this instant!"

Alfred ignored him, carrying him over one shoulder into their bedroom and dumping the protesting blond onto the bed. Arthur fumbled to sit up, blinking rapidly as he saw Alfred dart forward. He had roughly three seconds before he fell back against the mattress again, gasping, now completely naked. Alfred wasn't in the habit of using his super speed in times like this, which was as much as shock as it was to have your entire wardrobe removed so quickly.

"Alfred! Explain yourself this instant!"

"You're not hurt, right?"

Arthur blinked, then realized his lover was searching him from head to toe, quite literally. Alfred had yanked off his gloves and was patting him down, searching every inch, testing every joint. "Of course I'm not. Just my ego, love, really. Is that what's had you so worried?"

Only when he was sure Arthur really wasn't hurt did Alfred sit back on his heels, reaching up to take off his goggles. He tugged the suit down over his head, then put the goggles back on. "You're not supposed to be there when I'm doing this stuff, Iggy. It's dangerous, especially if you're not a Super. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

The Brit sighed, propping himself up on his elbows. "It's hardly like I went looking for excitement, love. Besides, you were there. I had nothing to worry about."

Normally this would have gotten the man to at least puff out his chest, but for a change it had no effect. Alfred's face as still creased in a worried frown, and Arthur decided the look didn't suit him. He leaned up, putting his arms around Alfred's neck and kissing him. It took a minute, but Alfred started to kiss him back.

Satisfied, Arthur pulled away, but only to murmur in his ear, "Since you've already got me naked anyway, and I don't think you'll be going out again tonight...

The next kiss was initiated by Alfred, and a very eager one at that. Arthur smiled against his mouth, not even minding it when he was shoved back down onto the mattress.

LEMON BREAK LEMON BREAK=== Want to read, see profile at AO3. Same title, author Inkblooded_Witch. ===LEMON BREAK LEMON BREAK

After several long, pleasant minutes, Arthur mumbled, "How much was that police scanner again?"

His lover groaned in exasperation.

"Alfred?"

"Yeah?" he asked wearily.

"Won't the police come looking for a hostage that disappeared along with Major Hero?"

"Can't I deal with them in the morning?" moaned Alfred, burying his face in Arthur's neck.

"Just how do you plan to deal with them, then?"

"I'll figure something out."

Arthur snorted. "You'd better. I'm not moving to another city because the press you finally got lead them straight to our front door."

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