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

[knife_bender]

"Mine is too," he said, sliding his hand against the side of her neck, wanting to keep her close. "I love you. I have a million reasons to want my siblings back, and getting to marry you is definitely one or a thousand of them."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I love you, too," Annie murmured, leaning into that touch and smiling. "It's, like, extra motivation to find your siblings. We get everyone back, throw a big party and make this thing legal as a reward?"

Sounded pretty great to her, actually.

[knife_bender]

"I love that plan," Diego said, leaning in to kiss her again.

It was a pretty great plan. Though likely not to go exactly to plan considering the people involved.

[defenderofdesmoines]

What? Things always went smoothly for them. Especially when his siblings were involved. There was like, no possible chance that this eventual wedding would involve somehow having to fight crime between the obligatory reading of First Corinthians and the vows.

Annie slid her arms up around his neck, staying close with a soft little exhale. And, like, the best thing about all of this was that there was no obligation at all to not stay close -- she lived here and this was their life and not just a one-day thing that they were celebrating, and she was just so happy.

So happy she was going to kind of see about moving into his lap, in fact. Some things were classics for a reason.

[knife_bender]

Her in his lap was basically one of Diego's favorite things, so there would be no complaints coming from him. He got both of his hands on her waist to keep her steady.

Falling would be bad. They would absolutely push through it, but what a delay.

[defenderofdesmoines]

They'd been through worse! They were tenacious when it came to things like sitting in laps. (Except that one week when the thermostat had been fucked and the shower had run cold and Five had shown up. That had been a real test of their tenacity, actually.)

It also just sort of made her think of the first time she'd ever gotten into his lap, since this was a day for being nostalgic over the past year, and thus Annie was already dipping her fingertips lightly inside his collar.

"So is it, like, a six knives kind of day?" she teased, trailing kisses over to his ear. "Or were you really worried about those clowns?"

[knife_bender]

"I could have taken those clowns without knives." So, yes, six knife day for sure. "I wouldn't embarrass you like that on our anniversary though."

Now on a different day...

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, if those guys had been actually dangerous and you'd had to take them out, that would have been, like, the opposite of embarrassing," Annie murmured before biting his earlobe lightly. "More of a, like, 'let me show Diego how private cornfields can be' situation."

Honestly, probably for the best that those had been actors, really.

[knife_bender]

"Is that something I have to look forward to on Thanksgiving?" he asked, sliding his hands under Annie's shirt.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Only if you aren't afraid of being cold," Annie replied, biting her lip as she shifted a little in his lap. "The Midwest gets colder than it does here. There might be snow."

Even more relevantly, the corn would actually probably be harvested and thus about a foot tall.

[knife_bender]

"Why do I have the feeling you have ways of keeping me warm?" he asked, moving to lift her shirt up and off.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I do have my ways, and it's not just a line," Annie replied, giving him a playful little flash of her eyes as she lifted her arms so her shirt could come off. "Remember when we had the blizzard? And that time we burnt the pizza?"

She literally could keep him warm by being handsy, even!

[knife_bender]

"Those mid-west skills are very useful." Diego tossed Annie's shirt aside, immediately moving to run his hands along her newly exposed skin.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You have a few skills of your own that I'm a fan of." Annie was a bit preoccupied with trying to get Diego's shirt off, because this disparity was clearly very unfair, but she still couldn't help the appreciative little shiver she gave when he touched her.

[knife_bender]

Diego lifted up his arms, letting Annie pull his shirt off. And there was the harness with six knives in it. "What's your favorite skill?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's like our first time," Annie said fondly, looking down at the harness before leaning in to kiss Diego again.

Both to stall a little, even if she had her answer right away, and to also demonstrate that answer. "And -- you're really good with your mouth."

And if she kept that a little nebulous, well -- he was good with his mouth in a lot of ways. She liked how he talked, for example! (And also if he'd asked when she wasn't shirtless and perched in his lap, her answer might have been different.)

[knife_bender]

"Well thank you," he teased lightly, leaning in to nip at Annie's neck. "My favorite skill of yours is...your hands. You're good with your hands."

Which could also be not dirty!

[defenderofdesmoines]

Totally could! Never mind how that prompted Annie to slide those very hands along his shoulders and down his chest with a pleased sigh. "Thank you," she murmured, hunting around so she could undo his harness. "I pride myself at being really skilled with my hands."

So skilled that she could figure this thing out without looking at all, now, ta-da. Why look when she could instead press kisses to the side of Diego's head and into his hair?

[knife_bender]

"You've gotten so good at that," he murmured. "Better than I am, I think."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm not sure you're quite as motivated as I am when it comes to getting things off you," Annie teased, tossing the harness aside so she could slide her hands along his chest appreciatively.

[knife_bender]

"That is a very good point," he said, laughing lightly. "By that logic, I should be better than you at unhooking bras."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, you probably are." That was mostly just a bit of ego-stroking and flirting, since Annie could probably take her own bra off one-handed and asleep. "But I know for sure you're better at getting me out of my Starlight dress."

She'd recently developed a system for doing it on her own out of necessity, and it wasn't exactly the most graceful of solo operations.

[knife_bender]

"That took a lot of practice." It really, really had. How things had changed over a year.

Since it had been brought up, Diego did move to unhook Annie's bra a moment later.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Remember after we fought bears and stuff?" Annie asked, sliding her bra off her shoulders and tossing it aside before leaning back into him. "And you got to learn how complicated that thing really is?"

And Annie had had to learn, for the first time, that she was going to have to deal with Diego being hurt on occasion. A lot had changed over the year.

[knife_bender]

"That was a learning experience," he murmured, leaning in to press a kiss against her chest. "And I think we ended up just like this, if I remember correctly."