MHA # 2 | Tuesday Afternoon

[knife_bender]

For all of his outward confidence, there was a little part of Diego that was nervous for Annie today. He knew she had everything to be part of a big superhero team, but her universe had some weird ideas of what a superhero should be. So, yes, he might have been doing some anxious pacing around the apartment waiting for her to get back.

At least with this audition over he could stop feeling guilty when he ate something that wasn't kale around her.

[For the girl!]

Comments

[knife_bender]

"This is true," he said. "But now I'm disappointed I didn't actually try to arrest those candy canes."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Have you made any arrests here?" Annie wondered. "I don't even have the authority to arrest candy canes."

[knife_bender]

"Well Klaus got arrested," Diego said. "But I didn't make the arrest. That's the only one I've heard of."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie considered that information for a moment. "Do you have handcuffs?" she asked, totally and completely innocently.

She was just curious. Really.

[knife_bender]

"I mean, I had handcuffs even before I was a cop." They were useful! For vigilante stuff! And other stuff!

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie gave him an appraising look, even though she was also starting to blush a little. "Well, that's good to know," she said slowly. "For, like, if we ever need to take someone in while patrolling, or something."

Or something.

[knife_bender]

"Or something," Diego repeated with a slow smile. "Yeah, I think that is a very good idea."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I bet you could get out of handcuffs if you really wanted to, though." Annie was blushing a little harder, but like, she figured that could be forgiven. "I mean, if someone put some on you for some reason."

For some reason. Also, considering how hot she found his lockpicking skills, like, this was still kind of a win-win scenario for her, anyway.

[knife_bender]

"Oh I definitely could." He was absolutely living for this blushing right now. "You know, if they ended up on me for some reason."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And I could probably break any cuffs anyone put on me," Annie added lightly, still blushing. You know, in case he was curious. "If I really wanted to."

[knife_bender]

"That is also true," he said. "And if you broke a pair I'm sure there's tons of them around at work."

...

"If you ever ended up in them for some reason."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"For some reason," Annie echoed, and now her ears were blushing. "I mean, I don't know that for sure. I've never been handcuffed."

Like, shock of shocks, she had never been arrested, but also any other applications of handcuffs -- like so many things they did together -- would be brand-new to Annie, too. But she was curious, anyway.

[knife_bender]

"I have." Which was probably the least surprising confession ever.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"No way." Annie was trying for deadpan, but wasn't able to keep the smile off her face. "A nice boy like you?"

[knife_bender]

"I know, I know, it's shocking," Diego said with a laugh. "I've been in the back of a cop car and a jail cell too."

And would be again!

[defenderofdesmoines]

"B and E?" Annie guessed, softening a little. "Or did you get into a fight or something and the cops weren't as interested in your side of things?"

Both seemed likely.

[knife_bender]

"The last one," he said. "Also I've been cuffed a couple times for investigating crime scenes while not technically being a cop."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Well, that shouldn't be a crime if you're there to help," Annie decided, like that should make a difference. "I've actually never put them on someone, either. Any time I've had to make an arrest, I just put them in an arm lock. Or knock them out."

Annie's universe was pretty lenient when it came to official superhero procedure.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, my universe doesn't really view hero'ing the same way as yours." To be fair, Diego did come off like some random butting into police business rather than an actual superhero.

"I would love to see you put someone in an arm lock." That'd be hot.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"If we hadn't needed to get out of there so fast on Valentine's Day, I would've then," Annie admitted. Instead she'd just gone right for broken bones, which was certainly not hot at all. "I could put you in one pretty easy if I wanted, I bet."

But she'd rather cuff him, honestly.

[knife_bender]

He smiled. "I mean, we've pretty thoroughly established that you could overpower me whenever you wanted to."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, we do have a significant mass difference, here," Annie said agreeably, finishing her pizza and pretty much immediately deciding that post-pizza cuddles were going to be a thing. "Bet you could throw me off of you most of the time if you wanted to."

Which was why she liked the arm lock for unruly, bigger-than-her crime-doers! Good thing everyone here liked it when she overpowered him, anyway.

[knife_bender]

Oh no, not post-pizza cuddles. Anything but that. "I can't picture me ever wanting to do that."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"What if it's a bad time?" Did a bad time even exist for them? "Like you're on the phone or something?"

Still probably an okay time for her to climb on him. It would just be a challenge.

[knife_bender]

"When am I on the phone with anyone but you?" he asked.