Amelia, Ch 337- Victoria
"Hey, Mom!" I shouted as I walked in, still fully costumed. "Guess who's finally got that date!"
"Please tell me I'm you're just messing with me," Mom looked in from the kitchen. I simply smiled broadly at her.
Sorry about how totally not sorry I am. "Vicky, he's closer to my age than he is to yours."
"Mom, we've been over this like a thousand times, already," I rolled my eyes. "He's smart, he's successful, he's hot as hell, and he treats me well. Or he'd better if he knows what's good for him."
"You should find a boy closer to your age," she insisted. "It's not like you're hurting for acceptable suitors. Half the internet wants to marry you."
"Mom, there is no such thing as an 'acceptable suitor' on the internet," I countered. "And age is just a number, especially when you've got Amy around. I bet if I asked nicely, she could make me fifty. Or five. Ooh! An even better idea! She can make you my age and I'll introduce you to all those so-called 'acceptable suitors' and you can cougar it up like it's going out of style."
"Don't be crass, Victoria," she chided.
Good thing I know she'd never call that bluff. I have no idea how I woulda talked my way out of that. I surpressed a shudder at the thought.
"Fiiine, but I'm still going on that date," I insisted. "Would you mind driving me?"
"You mean you want me to drive you?" She asked incredulously. "To a date with a guy that I don't want you dating?"
"Ya-huh," I confirmed, still smiling.
Some days, I wish I still had my aura. Made stuff like this so much easier. "I have a super cute outfit and I'd like it to be clean and perfect. If I wear my armor, it'll get all wrinkled and bunched up. Or maybe even eaten by the costume. And if I try to get a cab? Mom, the cabs around here have more fungus based biomass and human genetic material in them than my armor does. I know because my power tells me these things."
"Nothing I can do is going to stop you, is that it?" She sighed.
"Not unless you get Clockblocker's power," I sang happily.
"What time do you need to be there?" She relented.
"Thanks, Mom!" I exclaimed happily, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best! We can leave at six thirty and be there with some time to spare. Oh, right, and I have some legalese bullshit to talk with you about on the ride. It doesn't even have anything directly to do with me this time!"
....
"Thanks again for the ride, Mom," I smiled as we pulled in to the parking lot. I was looking into my makeup mirror, adjusting my features to be just perfect. I didn't need the makeup, my powers made those kinds of adjustments trivial. What I did need was to look at my new face and make sure it didn't look freakish. "Don't worry, you won't need to pick me up later."
"Vicky!" She exclaimed. "You can't seriously be planning that on the first date."
"Relax," I rolled my eyes at her reaction.
If I told her about that when I asked for the ride, she'd have said no. "First, I'm an adult, I can do whatever I like. Second, that is not what I meant. I've got my armor on standbye over on Avalon. After the date, I can shunt it over, suit up, and go looking for some drug dealers or something to smack around. Y'know, what I typically do with my nights now that I don't sleep anymore."
"You did that on purpose," she sighed.
"Probably," I hopped out of the car and took off to the restaurant.
....
I hadn't seen Chevalier out of costume often, or ever now that I thought about it. Sure, my powers meant I could functionally see through the costume anyway, but nothing quite beat looking at things through my actual eyes. And right now, my eyes approved. Light brown complexion, dark hair and eyes. I briefly considered a wolf whistle, but he was right, this was a nice restaurant and I didn't want to draw that kind of attention.
"So nice to finally meet you, Michael," I smiled and wrapped my arm around his. I wanted to get as much as possible out of all of my senses. "I'm glad you finally listened to reason."
"Pleasure's all mine," he looked down at me, meeting my eyes with his. Even with my natural height and in heels, he had a couple inches on me. He did a remarkable job of not letting his eyes drift to the low neckline of my dress. "Sorry it took so long to come around."
"Good things are worth waiting for," I leaned my head against his shoulder.
He led us to a private booth that I assumed he picked out before I got here, since he didn't need a waitress or anyone to guide me there. We waited until our meal was served before we really started talking.
With a thought my features shifted, returning to my natural beauty. I happily noted that he found me much more attractive like this. "Y'know, we could just have the date on Avalon, and no one would ask any questions," I pointed out. "It's a world without paparazzi and tabloids. No one would even know they're supposed to ask questions."
"Perhaps on another day," he responded. "Probably would be more convenient."
"Hmm, that's awful presumptuous of you, just assuming I'll agree to a second date," I teased.
"I was actually operating on the assumption that you wouldn't give me much of a choice in the matter," he quipped back. He didn't sound all that upset about the idea. "No matter how much I try to avoid it, there will be a second date. And third. And so forth."
I pushed my tongue into my cheek and pretended to look lost in thought for a couple seconds. "Yeah, you're probably right."
"So, I know I've asked this before, but why me?"
"Do we have to have this conversation?" I sighed.
Dammit. I leaned forward, trying to distract him a little. "It's pretty much the one way to ruin this evening. And I know how much you don't want that."
"Has to be done," he insisted, again keeping his eyes on mine. This time I was less happy about it. "You've been pushing for this since pretty much the moment we started working together, and you still haven't explained why."
"It can't be because you're hot and nice?" I asked. "Isn't that how this sorta thing usually works?"
He looked at me for a minute, his emotions awash with concern. I turned off my emotion senses for a moment. He was reading almost fatherly, and that was something I really didn't want to think about right now. Or ever if I could possibly help it. "I guess we could call it that," he admitted. "But I don't buy it. I've talked to your mother. I know about Gallant. Dean."
God damn it, god damn everything. An active shapeshift later and I no longer had tear ducts. They were a distraction I didn't need right now. "So, just how much do you think you know about him?" I tried to demand, to sound angry, but the words came out in a whisper.
"Not enough," he responded. "You were on again, off again for about two years. Starting right after you got powers that included the ability to influence emotions of people looking at you. Then he died in Leviathan's attack on Brockton Bay."
"He never should have been out there," I added, telling the part of the tale I needed him to know. "He didn't have any powers that would make an Endbringer blink. A blaster whose blasts only hurt as hard as a normal person's punch, and altered their emotions to make them not want to fight anymore. That's less than nothing against Leviathan."
I looked up at him and allowed the tears to come. Dean deserved that much, at least. That I cry for him. "How did they ever justify sending that power out there in battle against a fucking Endbringer? How the fuck does that make any sense at all? I... I don't even know if the Endbringer killed him directly, or if he was caught in one of the tidal waves. I... never had the guts to ask that question to anyone who'd know."
"He wanted to make a difference," Michael offered. "I've seen a lot of people make that decision over the years. A lot of us have. Choosing to take the risk, not because they believed they would be the critical piece to the puzzle, but because staying back and doing nothing was not acceptable. I've also met others who made the opposite choice and regretted it. There are no easy answers, there's just doing the right thing and hoping it matters."
"He probably would have said something like that, if I had a chance to ask him," I sighed.
"Is that what this is to you?" Mike asked. "I mean, he and I went with pretty similar themes. Am I supposed to be a replacement?"
I looked up at him. "No!" I insisted. "Yeah, there are similarities, but I'm allowed to have a type."
"You are," he responded. "But that, plus your habit of avoiding serious questions. Of actually talking about things. I'm allowed to be worried about you, right?" He reached over and rested his hand on my forearm.
"Yeah, I guess you are," I couldn't help but smile as I put my hand over his.
"Part of that means being honest with me," Michael insisted. "The teasing's one thing, I can live with that. Would appreciate if you did less of it at the office, however. But no more evading questions and pretending things are alright when you know they're not. I don't mean to put pressure on you, but..." He trailed off
"I'd rather just move on," I objected. "Being honest is one thing, but there's no point in wallowing in the past and being miserable." My mother's been doing that since before I was even born, and it hasn't done her any favors.
"Pretending it never happened isn't going to help, either," he countered.
I shrugged, and he squeezed my arm gently. Far more carefully than he needed to, considering that he could probably throw all his strength into it without causing me any discomfort. I wasn't as strong or as tough as I used to be with my old powers, but I was still up there. "Yeah, you're right," I finally admitted.
"Good," he smiled. "Don't worry, we don't have to cover all the heavy stuff in one night. As long as the door's open."
"Thanks," I smiled back. "I... I think Dean would have been glad. That I have someone who will look after me."
Michael reached across with his other hand and cupped the side of my face, leaning forward while guiding me subtly toward him. I knew what was coming next, I had been looking forward to it for months. He did not disappoint.
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A/N- Bonus scene up shortly in the NSFW Worm section. Then I'll link it here!
https://forum.questionablequesting.com/posts/271058/
