Title: Caspian Dukes and His Best Friend’s Husband
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Heroes & Villains
Frame set: Allies & Enemies, “Good Times”
Characters: Caspian Dukes, Vereint Georges, Warrick Tobias, Melissa Kim
Pairings: Vereint Georges/Warrick Tobias
Genre: friendship, superhero, meta
Summary: Vereint and Caspian go see a movie together.
“What’s that look about?”
Caspian startled slightly. “Sorry. I blame Warrick’s show for bringing up old memories.”
“Oh yeah, they tend to do that. One minute you’re laughing, and the next you’re remembering the awful teacher you had in the sixth grade. It’s emotional manipulation,” Vereint said. “That, or black magic.”
“Hah. Right?” Caspian forced himself to relax. They were going to eat some food, do a little shopping, and watch a classic movie. Everything was fine.
* * *
Vereint felt as if he’d done something wrong. Not in the “Whoops, forgot I wasn’t a supervillain anymore” way, but in the accidentally stepped into someone’s flashback kind of way.
Caspian was usually such a happy-go-lucky guy that it was a bit jarring to see him be serious, broody even. He wasn’t supposed to even have an expression like that, as though he’d been kicked too many times and expected to be kicked some more.
Vereint nearly suggested they turn the taxi around and go back to the penthouse. Warrick would know what to do to fix Caspian’s mood. Warrick would take one look and know exactly what to say to make everything all right.
Instead, Vereint decided they were going to do this. They would have a good evening and Vereint would do what he could to turn Caspian’s mood around. It was what a friend would do.
“It’s my fault Warrick is so into Asian dramas, you know,” he said.
“What?”
“Seriously. It’s my fault. I got him to watch A Tale of Two Sisters and he ended up really liking it.” Vereint could see Caspian relaxing. “He looked up the actress that played Su-mi, and somehow ended up discovering the the girl that played the younger sister. He is probably Moon Geun-Young’s biggest fan.”
“I have no idea what you just said, but it sounds like Warrick’s MO.” Caspian fiddled with his phone before tucking it into his pocket. “I bought our tickets. You should tell me more stuff about Warrick.”
“Why do I feel like you’re gathering blackmail material?” Vereint asked.
“I just have one one of those faces?” Caspian made what was supposed to be an endearing expression.
Vereint snorted. “Is that face supposed to work on me?”
“I don’t know, is it working?”
“Kind of,” Vereint said. “Did Warrick’s sudden obsession with kdramas spook you?”
“I’ve gotten used to it over the years, but it was definitely a surprise at first. It was very unexpected of him.”
“He always tries to keep us on our toes, huh?” Vereint smiled fondly. Warrick was one topic of conversation he could stick with for hours.
“He’s a good guy. You’re lucky to have him,” Caspian said.
“I know,” Vereint agreed.
The taxi cruised to a stop and Vereint was surprised to see they were at the restaurant. The drive from Tobias Towers usually felt longer.
“We’re here,” he said. “This conversation goes on the ‘To be continued’ pile.”
He offered the driver some cash, then climbed out of the taxi. He breathed in the rich scent of garlic and beef that wafted his way when a group of laughing people left the restaurant. The smell made his stomach rumble.
“I am starving,” he said. “I was expecting to get some food after the meeting. We usually get some delivery.”
“What kind of meeting was it?”
Old instincts and deep-seated shame made Vereint want to hunch his shoulders, but he refrained. He had no reason to feel ashamed for seeking out the help he needed.
“I signed up for some group therapy,” he said after swallowing heavily. He avoided meeting Caspian’s eyes. “It’s been doing a lot of good.”
The silence dragged a few seconds too long, but Caspian’s “That’s good” sounded sincere.
Vereint decided to ignore the awkwardness. He strode up to the restaurant and held the door open. “These guys make the best pho in town. Have you ever eaten here?”
“I don’t think so,” Caspian said. “I would definitely recognize that big striped tiger painting. That thing is awesome.”
“I’ve tried to buy it, but they told me no.” Vereint smiled at the hostess when she came to meet them. “Two please. Can we get a booth?”
“Certainly. Come this way.”
They settled in after giving their drinks order–one soda and one pot of tea to be shared. Vereint barely glanced at the menu before setting it aside. He was here for the pho and that was what he’d be ordering.
“You wanna share some gyoza and terriyaki chicken?” Caspian looked at him over the top of the menu he held.
“Sure,” Vereint said. “Get an order of white rice with the chicken. It’s good stuff.”
The waitress came back with their drinks and they ordered. Vereint added barbecue pork and edamame to the order.
“That’s going to be a lot of food,” the waitress said.
“We’re hungry,” Vereint said, giving her a smile.
“I’ll be back shortly with your food,” she said.
Once they were alone, Vereint poured them both cups of tea. “It’s kind of nice to get out of the house every once and a while. It keeps the walls from closing in on me.”
“Well, if you ever need an excuse to go out, I enjoy eating free food and I’m always down with having company when I go to the movies,” Caspian said.
“I’m always happy to spend Warrick’s money. We could go on shopping sprees and eat out at expensive places,” Vereint said. “We could have a lot of fun while Warrick and Melissa binge-watch kdramas. It could be our thing.”
It was only after he’d said it that Vereint wondered if he sounded completely pathetic. He was the needy friendless guy latching onto his husband’s best friend like some kind of suckerfish.
“Sure,” Caspian said. “Sounds fun.”
“Cool,” Vereint said suavely.
His moment of social awkwardness was smoothed over by the waitress arriving with the food. She carried everything on a large tray and there was a bit of time where plates and bowls were arranged around the table. After the waitress left, there were a few minutes where Vereint and Caspian busied themselves preparing their pho the way they liked it–Vereint added a handful of beansprouts and most of the jalapenos to his along with a good amount of hoisin and Sriracha.
The scent of the pho made his stomach rumble hungrily. With his metahuman metabolism he could have gone weeks or even months without eating, but that didn’t mean a steaming bowl of pho didn’t bring out his appetite.
Vereint ate his first mouthful of noodles and swallowed his appreciative moans down as well. Food-related sex noises weren’t something he was prepared to release into a crowded restaurant.
“So good,” he murmured.
Caspian grunted in agreement, taking a bit out of a gyoza. “I can’t believe Warrick’s never told me about this place.”
“It’s because he’s selfish. He doesn’t like the idea of anyone eating good food without him.”
“Hah.” Caspian was a neat if hearty eater. Food made it into his mouth without a single drop being spared, his lips closing as he chewed.
“What was it like growing up in the ocean?” Vereint asked.
“Wet. Very, very wet,” Caspian said. “It’s so wet you don’t even notice it anymore. It feels like flying when you go anywhere and there’s so much nutrient in the water that just breathing keeps you from being hungry.”
“Sounds lovely,” Vereint said.
Caspian laughed. “Yeah, if you like the taste of fish and swimming in your own toilet. Food can be cooked using geothermal vents, but there’s the risk of sudden heat spikes flash-boiling the chef. Culinary delights are few and far between under the sea. Tasting food from the Above World for the first time was a true revelation. I’ve never looked back.”
“Huh. I always thought life under the see would be great,” Vereint said. “I guess Sebastian lied.”
“Never trust a crab. They spend so much time in their shells that they’ve got no clue how life really works,” Caspian said.
“Good to know.” Vereint nibbled on a chicken strip speared by a wooden skewer, glad the cook hadn’t used too much teriyaki sauce. “This chicken is delicious.”
Caspian took a bite out of his own chicken. “Mm, you’re right. This place is going on my list of places to revisit.”
Vereint set down the skewer and lifted his fork to begin eating his pho. After a few minutes he asked Caspian, “Can you really talk to crabs?”
Caspian laughed.
TBC…
Would it be “geothermal vents” under the ocean? I know what I’m thinking of, but I don’t think I’m using the right terminology :/
