“Okay, we can go,” Tony said, trotting toward him.
Seth forced down the bubble of happiness he always experienced when Tony looked at him like that, as though he were important. “You take forever getting ready,” he said gruffly.
Tony shrugged and slapped the elevator button. “That’s part of my charm.”
“Some charm,” Seth said.
The elevator doors slid open and Seth gestured Tony in first. “Do you want to hit up that sandwich place?”
Tony made a face. “I want some actual food. Let’s go to NSFW.”
“A strip club?” Seth’s eyebrows were raised so high he thought he could feel them scraping his hairline.
“They have great chicken wings,” Tony said. He laughed at Seth’s expression. “Don’t worry, I’ve not become some kind of sex fiend or anything. There’s a separate restaurant and we don’t even have to see any of the strippers. We’re just going to eat.”
Seth really wasn’t sure, but Tony looked so excited that he didn’t want to be the one to break the mood. “All right. But let’s stay away from the strippers. I don’t think I could deal with the PR nightmare if we were recognized in a place like that.”
“Relax.” Tony shook his head with a chuckle. “I half expect you to call it a den of iniquity or something. You really need to calm down about stuff or you’re going to give yourself high blood pressure or something.”
“Yeah, I’m really worried about high blood pressure,” Seth said dryly. It wasn’t like he went out and fought supervillains or anything.
Tony rolled his eyes. “Calm down, I promise to protect your maidenly virtue. Now come on. You’ll have a good time, I promise.”
“Whatever.”
It was kind of a shock to find out Tony was actually right.
He was having a great time.
They were sitting in the safety of the restaurant and it was so normal looking that he could pretty much forget what kind of place he was in. And they had some truly delicious chicken wings as an appetizer.
“I was totally right, wasn’t I?”
Seth met Tony’s cocky grin head on and had to wince away. “God, you’re obnoxious.”
“Obnoxiously right,” Tony said, “like all the time.” He gnawed all the meat from a chicken wing and didn’t even care that he got hot sauce all over his fingers and mouth.
“You’re gross.” Seth made a face.
Tony wiped his hands off on a napkin, then grabbed his cup of Bolt Cola. He slurped it down until ice was all that was left and kept slurping as loudly as possible. “Ah, good stuff,” he plunked his cup down with a satisfied grin.
Seth sighed wearily. “that’s your real superpower, isn’t it? Being disgusting and annoying.”
“I’m also incredibly handsome.” Tony grinned.
Seth had to bite his tongue to keep from agreeing with him. That way lay crocodiles.
“This place isn’t so bad,” Seth offered.
“It’s not, is it,” Tony agreed. “The first time I came in here, I was really kind of nervous. But it’s actually pretty quiet and I don’t have to worry so much about anyone getting in my business. Plus, it’s probably the one place in the city I can go to get away from the rest of the team.”
“Yet you invited me here,” Seth said.
Tony looked embarrassed, but refrained from running a hand through his hair as he habitually did. Probably because his hands were covered in chicken wing sauce.
“You’re my friend,” Tony said, looking at the tabletop. “This place just seemed like something I wanted to share with you.”
“So it’s like our place?” Seth asked.
Harper Kingsley
Ko-fi: HarperWCK
Paypal: HarperKingsley
“Well, yeah,” Tony said.
“Okay,” Seth said, “great.” He hoped he didn’t look as completely blown away as he felt. It was a real battle keeping a giant stupid grin off his face.
“Yeah.” Tony shifted uncomfortably, then sat straight upright, his chin going firm. “You wanna split a club sandwich with me? They make an awesome club, but it’s way too big after all those chicken wings.”
“Well…”
“You can have the pickle,” Tony wheedled. He pouted his lower lip out and all of Seth’s willpower fled the scene.
“All right,” Seth said, “just ’cause you offered me the pickle.”
“Awesome!” Tony cheered quietly.
Seth smiled contentedly. It was nice seeing his friend come back to life. It made him want to believe that everything was going to be okay.
* * *
“What?” he asked dumbly.
Powergirl’s eyes were like gimlets. “For some reason Solar decided she wanted to switch to Teen Demis West Coast. Pulsar, of course, is going along with her. For some reason I feel like we’re losing two of our members because of something you did.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Tony said brashly. He imagined he could feel a trail of sweat working its way down the side of his neck. He was definitely the focus of her evil eye and he figured at any moment Powergirl would start sucking the meat from his bones. It was a rather daunting prospect.
If there was something she’d definitely fly off the handle about, it was the idea of someone screwing up the team dynamic. She took her role as team leader very seriously.
Tony had a feeling that when the whole story came out he was going to get his ass kicked. He figured he should enjoy the anonymity as long as it lasted. He would be hating life soon enough.
“So, they’re both leaving the group?” he asked. “Won’t that leave us short handed?”
Powergirl gave a sudden, tired shrug. “The only good thing is that this is happening in the off season. We’ll be able to start recruiting some new members and get some people trained up before the season starts.” She reached forward to grab the bowl of chips Tony had left on the table. She slouched on the couch and cradled the bowl in her arms as she began to snack.
It was a rather incongruous picture she presented: Young demigod in her uniform of leather skirt and chest armor. The bowl was green plastic, the chips the bright orange of their cheddar cheese and sour cream flavoring. A figure representing the hope of a generation, chomping on chips and letting her relative youth shine fully for once.
Sometimes Tony worried that Powergirl would suffer a heart attack due to all the pressure she put on herself to be perfect.
They maybe didn’t hang out in their time off, but Tony still saw Powergirl as a friend. He really didn’t like the idea of her driving herself too far. It just didn’t seem worth it.
“It’s gonna be all right,” he said. “Take it from me, Sunfire and I will both help you in whatever. You don’t need to think you have to handle everything alone.”
She slumped back on the couch. She’d basically stolen his spot, but he let her have it and perched on an armchair instead. She was not wearing a face he really wanted to argue with.
“Why me?” she asked. “I’m pretty sure previous team leader’s never had it so hard. I bet they got to have actual days off and could sleep at night without being woken up at all hours.”
“Are you regretting volunteering for the job?” Tony asked.
“I should have known better,” she said. “When you–a Legacy–practically ran screaming from the job, I should have known it wasn’t gonna be all cake and pie.”
“Nope, it’s also some serious shit,” Tony laughed.
“Thank you,” Powergirl said dryly. “Thank you for making me feel like even more of a jerk for taking the leadership job. Did you know I gave up going to college for this superhero gig?”
Tony winced. “I’m sorry.”
Powergirl–Danica Strong–shrugged like it didn’t really matter. “What are you sorry for? I mean, this is something I’ve wanted my whole life. It’s just a little more work than I thought it would be as a child. Still, I think it’s totally worth it.”
Tony eyed her for a moment. “Are you trying to make me feel even worse? Is this some super sly guilt trip thing?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Tony shook his head. “Never mind,” he said quickly. “So we’re opening up positions on the team. That’ll be fun times for all, am I right?”
She grimaced. “You would be wrong. If there’s one thing I hate about an open recruitment, it’s that all the crazies come out of the woodwork looking for their chance to be annoying.”
“Wow, have you thought about poster work?” he asked. He made a frame with his hands. “I can just picture it now: Powergirl says, ‘Get a life, you wannabe losers.’ It’s a million dollar idea.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re kind of embarrassing to be around.”
“But you know you love me!” He waggled his eyebrows until she laughed, throwing a chip at him. He caught it with adroit skill and stuck it in his mouth. “Thanks!”
She waved a hand at him. “Whatever. Go do whatever it is you do when you’re not playing video games.”
He clutched a hand to his chest. “But Dani, it’s the middle of the day! Aren’t you worried I’m going to end up with horribly hairy palms?”
Powergirl made a disgusted face. “Oh gross, TMI, way too much, for reals.”
He laughed and stood up, shuffling toward the elevator door and the freedom of ‘outside.’ “Well, if you really don’t need me…” He flashed her a bright smile. “I’ll see you later then!”
He slapped his hand on the button, then darted into the elevator as soon as it opened. There was no way he wanted to linger and give her a real chance to bust him. That way lay madness and a horribly boring lecture.
When he was finally standing outside the building, he seriously had to wonder where he was going to go. All he’d thought about was escape, there’d been no destination in mind.
Tony shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and wandered down the street, his shoulders slumped. He really hated when his screw ups came with consequences.
He didn’t want Solar or Pulsar to quit the group. If he could have, he would have gone back in time and slapped himself for being an idiot jerk. Though knowing his luck, the paradox of having two of him in the same space and time would immediately end the universe.
Life is hard, he thought. Then he had to grimace when he realized he was feeling sorry for himself once again. It seemed like every time he lost focus, he just kind of fell into an invisible pit of despair. And since he didn’t really want to be that guy, when he caught himself he would feel like a complete jerk.
Once again he had to admit that Sunfire was probably right when he called him a doom and gloomer. He spent way too much of his life being unhappy.
I wonder where Sunfire is, he thought.
The other superhero had left the Demi Lair pretty early in the morning and hadn’t answered any of Tony’s text messages. It was minorly aggravating as Tony was wandering around with nothing to do.
You use the guy a lot, he thought. And it was true that he always seemed to go to Sunfire for help in solving his problems. It was just that the guy just always seemed to be there for him and never complained or acted like he was too busy.
It just seemed natural for Tony to take advantage of that willingness to help. But when he really thought about it, he felt like a jerk.
Tony felt new resolve fill him and walked with more confidence as he came up with an idea of where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do.
Sunfire was always helping him out and never asked for anything in return. So he figured he might as well get the guy a gift to show that he appreciated the fact that he was always there. He really didn’t want Sunfire to ever feel taken advantage of, not when he actually meant so much to Tony.
There had been a time in Tony’s life where he’d had so many people he called friend that he hadn’t known what to do with them all. Then he’d discovered the mean of “fair weather friend” and received a good dose of bitter reality.
Sunfire had become one of his best friends. It wasn’t something he’d expected when he’d joined the group and met the handsome superhero for the first time. From his looks and his rather extravagant way of acting, Tony had been fairly sure that Sunfire was going to be an arrogant narcissist. Instead, Sunfire was probably one of the most down-to-earth, generous superheroes Tony had ever met.
Ashley’s death and the way Sunfire had given him unflinching support made Tony appreciate his friendship more. The sometimes rather acerbic wit was just a bonus as far as he was concerned.
Filled with purpose, he strode down the sidewalk toward a store he’d walked past, but never entered. High fashion wasn’t really his thing, he was more a jeans and tee shirt kind of guy when it came to the clothes he wore outside his uniform. But he knew that Sunfire really appreciated expensive clothes.
Pushing open the door, he had to use his heroic bravery to get himself to step inside. This definitely wasn’t his kind of place, he could tell just by the music playing alone.
“Can I help you find anything?” the salesman asked politely, just kind of appearing at his elbow while he wandered amongst the shirts. He looked like he worked out a bit, enough to keep himself fit and toned so his tee shirt could stretch skintight across his chest. Tony had to fight to keep from seeing the guy’s nipples.
“Uh, yeah, I guess,” he muttered, then cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a gift for a friend. Maybe a nice sweater or something.”
“All right, well we have some really nice cashmere stuff over here.” The guy tugged on Tony’s arm, pulling him toward a middle display.
Tony wasn’t quite sure about the casual contact–some stranger touching him without permission seemed like something he probably shouldn’t put up with. But the salesman had done it so naturally that he thought he might come across like a total jerk if he objected.
“What color are your friend’s eyes?” the salesman asked, already beginning to sort through a pile of bright crew-necked sweaters.
“Green,” Tony said, watching him bemusedly. He’d never had someone so casually take over his life before.
“Well, these are what we have–the ones I like the best anyway.” The man held out three sweaters.
Tony brushed his fingers across one and found it to be so soft his fingers tingled. “Wow, these are nice.” He took the one he thought most resembled the hue of Sunfire’s eyes.
“I think I’m gonna take this one.” He looked around. “And do you have cologne? He said something about running out of the stuff he normally uses.”
“Of course.” The salesman tucked the discarded shirts back on the shelf, then led Tony across the store to a glass display cabinet.
Looking at all those little bottles and boxes trapped behind glass, Tony felt a bit out of his element, but the salesman firmly steered his choices.
Soon he found himself standing in front of the trendy boutique, blinking in the sunlight with the handle of a bag clenched in his fist. He felt a bit as though he’d been spit out by a whirlwind.
He’d gotten the sweater and cologne for Sunfire, but he’d also been talked into a pair of expensive jeans and a couple of tee shirts for himself. He wasn’t quite sure how it had even happened.
Tony shook his head. Either that sales guy had the most subversive metability he’d ever come across, or Tony was more of a sucker than he’d ever realized.
He started walking back toward the Demi Lair, his wallet much poorer than when he’d started the day. He just hoped Sunfire liked what he’d bought him or he’d feel like even more or a tool.
* * *
There was definitely a weird vibe in the air. It made him kind of glad that Tony had used his day off to go out. There was just this sense that everything was about to blow up.
