MHA #2 | Wednesday Evening

[knife_bender]

So the idea had been to go out to eat after spending time in a haunted corn maze (benefit of your anniversary being near Halloween), but by the time it was all over both Diego and Annie were too covered in dirt and straw to really be allowed into a place that wasn't Denny's.

Of course they could have had some self-restraint and not have gone so hard racing through the maze, but they wouldn't be Diego and Annie if they didn't.

That was fine. It had been a fun time, and pizza was always good. Especially when it was timed perfectly and dropped off at the apartment door just as they were getting back.

[For the person who's been his girlfriend for 365 days]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

"We have the best timing," Annie declared with a happy sigh as she kicked the door shut behind them, pizza in hand. "This was a great idea. We don't exactly have a great track record with going out on special occasions, anyway."

Not that anyone had been hurt on Valentine's Day -- well, neither of them, anyway -- but straw and dirt and pizza were all probably preferable to gunfire.

[knife_bender]

"We really don't," Diego said. "And we did kind of go out. People could have shot at us in the maze instead of running after us with fake chainsaws."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"True. We don't actually know those were fake," Annie pointed out with a lift of one brow as she went to set the pizza down. "I mean, just because they said they were...."

But like, people lied all the time, you know. And chainsaw-wielding maniacs probably weren't known for their honesty!

[knife_bender]

"What, you think a real maniac snuck in with the actors?" Diego asked, pulling a piece of straw out of his hair. "That'd be a good movie."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Kind of a genius plan, right?" Annie pointed out, going over to fondly smooth her hand over his hair just in case he didn't get all the straw. (And because, even a year in, she still couldn't get enough of touching him.) "Though like that would kind of suck for him if he thought he was chasing down some cute couple and they turned out to be, you know, us."

That really would be kind of a great movie.

[knife_bender]

"Oh yeah that would have been a huge mistake," Diego agreed, reaching out to cup her cheek. "We're a mess."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"We've been messier," Annie replied fondly, going up onto her toes to give him a kiss.

If there was any occasion to be sort of nostalgic and dopey, it was your anniversary. Particularly when it was your first anniversary, after a year of a lot of -- sure, messiness was a good way to describe it.

[knife_bender]

That was very true, and it was always a win when one of them (Diego) wasn't bleeding. Diego slid his arm around Annie's waist, keeping her there for a moment while he took his time kissing her. It was their anniversary, pizza could wait a minute.

[defenderofdesmoines]

That was one of the great things about pizza: it generally didn't suffer for waiting a minute.

"A whole year," Annie murmured, still kind of amazed by that. (Not that she'd had any doubt that they'd make it this far -- she just never had before. But then, she'd never had a Diego before, either.) "Sure you're not sick of me yet?"

[knife_bender]

"I'll never be sick of you," he assured her, giving her another kiss. "I should be asking you that question, if anything."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Never," Annie assured him, shaking her head very slightly as she slid her hands down to graze his shoulders. "Not even if I lived here full-time. I don't know if you've noticed, but I've got it pretty bad."

Even after a whole year. It was part of why Annie was so thoroughly convinced that this was the real deal. Usually the honeymoon phase faded, right?

[knife_bender]

"Do you?" he joked. "I don't know, you're pretty good at hiding it."

Lies.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm almost as hard to read as you are," Annie teased, rubbing her thumb lightly along his jaw.

If asked, he'd had dirt there. In reality: any excuse for touching.

[knife_bender]

Oh no, anything but more touching.

"I am very mysterious," he said, turning his head some to kiss the palm of her hand. "Didn't you see how I was mysteriously evading those people dressed up like clowns in the maze?"

More like speedily running from them but whatever.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, yeah, didn't you see me trying not to swoon over all the mystery?" Annie replied, beaming up at him.

More like making heart eyes at all that speedy evasion -- much like the heart eyes she was giving him now -- but whatever.

[knife_bender]

"I must have missed it." You know, when trying to not get touched by the clowns. "I was very impressed by your ability to solve that maze, by the way. Great leadership."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That Iowa upbringing's finally paying off," Annie replied, picking a piece of straw off where it was clinging to his shoulder. "Told you I like cornfields. We should do Halloween stuff for our anniversary every year."

Aww. Every year still gave her a little surge of happiness.

"There's something very romantic about evading clowns and chainsaws," she added, finally starting to pull back a little because, like, let's not entirely forsake the pizza, here. "

[knife_bender]

"I am totally all for that," Diego said, going to grab plates for the pizza. "Next year we can go to a haunted house. Or one of those haunted prisons."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"A haunted prison?" Annie echoed, eyes wide. "I mean, that might have actual, real, angry ghosts."

Which both sounded fun and kind of legitimately scary, especially compared with their prior disco-themed haunted house experience. Annie had grown up firmly not believing in ghosts, of course, but her skepticism there had been another casualty of the year.

[knife_bender]

"You're not afraid of ghosts are you?" he teased. He already knew ghosts were real, but if Klaus could deal with them they couldn't be that bad.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I don't know," Annie admitted, thinking about it. "How do you even fight a ghost? Can I punch them, or would my fist just go through them?"

Probably depended on the ghost, Annie.

[knife_bender]

"I don't think ghosts can hurt us. Unless they're Ben," Diego said, reaching for a slice of pizza. "But with Ben I think it was the same deal as the rest of us -- he only got more powerful because we were together."

Which was still lame.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That's still the sweetest thing," Annie said, disagreeing with that narrative entirely. "Maybe most ghosts are like Ben -- not in the adorable family-makes-us-stronger way, but in the, like, friendly ghost way." Prison ghosts probably just wanted to be visited, really. Maybe a prison-ghost penpal or two.

She paused as she got herself some pizza as well and added, "Ben was with Klaus, like, all the time, right? Like...including in that backseat when we gave him a ride?"

She'd had this realization already, but maybe Diego had not. At least Annie had already blushed herself silly over it, anyway.

[knife_bender]

"From what I understand, yeah. Since the funeral, apparently," Diego said, not embarrassed at all by what Ben may or may not have seen. "Still can't believe the jerk never told us."

Well, he could believe it, but it was still a dick move.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Well, he could afford to not be embarrassed, seeing as they were not his panties being waved around.

"Maybe he was just waiting for the right time?" Annie suggested, shrugging a shoulder. "For...like, twelve or so years."

Yeah, maybe Klaus didn't super deserve that benefit of the doubt, there, Annie.