knife_bender | Vought Tower | Thursday Afternoon

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Vought Tower | Thursday Afternoon

What was supposed to be a twenty-four hour visit had somehow turned into a "I guess I'm staying here until the portals start working again" visit. Diego was happy to have the extra time with Annie, even if there was some obvious distance between them at the moment. If anything spending more time with her was the only way to figure out what the issue was.

The bad thing was that he had only packed for a twenty-four hour visit. After much grousing, where Diego tried to convince Annie he could just spend the rest of time in sheets or towels while his one outfit was being washed, he gave in and wore The Seven merchandise that she had managed to get for him.

He refused to go out in public wearing this stuff, but he was fine hanging around Annie's apartment wearing Queen Maeve merch. The colors suited him, at least.

[Open to the gf and calls/texts. NFB due to distance! And NWS]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked lightly. "I know you've got a contract and everything, but we could get new identities and leave the country."

He was only kind of kidding.

Did you want to get kissed, Diego?

Because that was how you got kissed.

Things were weird, still, but that had been exactly the right response, and even if she wasn't ready to talk about all of it, something in Annie had uncoiled and relaxed a bit at talking about some of it.

Diego hadn't been looking for a kiss, but he would never complain about getting one. He did feel like a weight had been lifted off his chest, even if he knew this wasn't going to magically fix everything.

He kissed her back, suddenly even more glad that he had gotten stuck here this week. He didn't think they'd make it this far if he had gone home.

"I'm gonna stick it out for now," Annie said after a moment, pulling back a little but staying close. That claustrophobia she'd struggled with earlier this week had dissipated some, and while things weren't fixed, they felt...better. Easier. Less like she was hiding her entire life from him. "But I love you so, so much for suggesting that."

Like, bookmark that idea, Diego. Might be worth revisiting down the line.

"I'll start thinking of new names for us just in case," he said with a smile. "If you want to stick it out I'll support you. Whatever you need, just tell me."

"I will," Annie promised softly, leaning into him a little bit. "I mean --"

Okay. Let's not promise something she couldn't adhere to, yet.

"I promise not to shut you out," she amended, reaching for his hand to lightly trace her thumb along the inside of his wrist. "I know I have been, and that's -- shitty."

"A little bit shitty," he said, teasing. "I get it, though."

After all the hype and the parties and everything to have this opportunity turn out to be bust was...well, it wasn't something you wouldn't want to admit readily.

"But you don't have to go through this shit alone, okay? I'm here."

"I know you are, and I love you for it," Annie said quietly, smiling softly. "It's just...hard. All of it."

But most especially The Bad Thing that she wasn't going to talk about.

"I think I've got it handled for now," she added carefully. "I, like -- I think the worst is over."

The Deep had avoided even looking at her during that meeting, and other than him, she felt like she had a pretty good handle on her teammates, awful though they were. The bitter drunk, the cocky asshole, the greedy pervert, the strong silent one...and Homelander.

She could deal.

"If you're sure," he said, leaning in for another kiss. "I love you."

"I love you," Annie agreed, sighing softly into the kiss. "Just be...patient with me?"

Which, like, she knew Diego pretty well, and she knew that patience was not exactly his strong suit. But the reason she knew that so well had been sort of -- compromised, lately, even if she was feeling a bit better now.

"I don't want to hurt you because I'm going through some shit," she added, quirking a little half-smile at him.

"I can be patient." Kind of. Sometimes. "Just don't leave me completely in the dark next time, okay?"

If she wanted to keep things to herself, fine, she had the right to do that. But he didn't think he could deal wrestling with himself over whether or not the distance was all in his head again.

"I won't. That wasn't fair of me, and I'm really sorry, Diego," Annie said quietly, wrapping an arm across his midsection. "This is all hard on you, too."

Like, even if things had been going well with her new job, the separation wasn't easy on either of them, and in hindsight Annie regretted creating more distance, even if she hadn't meant to.

"Not compared to you, but yeah," he said. "Guess me getting stuck here was a good thing. Even with the ugly clothes."

"You could wear your cool Starlight shirt," Annie pointed out, lightly nuzzling his neck a bit. "You know what kinds of strings I had to pull to get one in black for you?"

Not that many strings, actually. But this was easy and light and not anything she felt like she had to force, right now, and she was gonna tease him a little bit.

"Must have been such an effort," he said, chuckling. "I love you, but I wear white for no one."

"I will take that as a challenge," Annie decided, shifting to press a soft kiss behind his ear. "I like you in the Maeve colors, though."

Even if Queen Maeve herself had turned out to be a massive disappointment, at least her branding remained on-point.

"You like me wearing any color not black," he teased.

"I do. Orange is still my favorite," Annie confirmed. "I'm gonna spend the rest of our lives getting you back in orange, so help me."

Go big or go home, you know?

"You can try, but it'll never happen." Lies.

"I'm willing to negotiate," Annie noted, tiptoeing her fingertips along his arm. She felt a faint flutter of nerves, though the claustrophobic panic from Monday wasn't looming anymore, and instead had been replaced by something much more familiar. "I'm sure there's something you might want, too."

He smiled, really appreciating the casual touching right now. It was nice to feel that without any hesitance behind it.

"We could always switch--you can wear the leather and tactical gear."

Although he would find that more adorable than anything.

The three days together, while awkward, had helped Annie regain her confidence a lot. She wasn't back to a hundred percent comfort, no -- she knew she probably wouldn't be for awhile -- but she at least felt absolutely sure right now that she and Diego were solid, and the parts of her brain that had temporarily rewired themselves to respond to touching with anxiety had seemed to find some reconciliation with six months' worth of memories of gentle physical affection.

"And you'd wear my cape?" Annie asked, waggling her brows at him playfully. "Maybe the gauntlets?"

This would possibly be even more amusing to picture in about a week.

"Those would probably be the only parts of that outfit I could fit in." Especially since Annie could barely breathe in it.

"I mean, we could get you your own gold boots and tights," Annie assured him, still light and playful. "Unless you were picturing me in your leather."

That seemed awfully...you know. Baggy-sounding.

"My leather wouldn't fit you," he said, playing lightly with the edge of her skirt. "It would be a tripping hazard."

And, you know, half the fun of someone else wearing leather was how tight it was.

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