Vought Tower | Monday Afternoon

[defenderofdesmoines]

Had Annie spent today doing something important? Maybe helping disadvantaged youths, or stopping a train full of people from hurtling off a broken bridge?

No, of course not. She had spent her morning shooting a commercial for her new oil-free facewash brand, WISH.

But, whatever. At least she was helping...teenagers fight acne? Right?

And more importantly, she was actually expecting a visitor today, now that she was done with her shoot and didn't have anything else lined up for the day. So, once she'd returned to her apartment, she'd wrangled herself out of her uniform and into a hoodie and some leggings -- like normal, because everything here was normal and this would go fine -- and sent Diego a text.

check in w/security when you get here, and then take the elevator up to the 99th floor. take a right, and my door has my name on it.

Or, well. It said Starlight, anyway.

can't wait to see you!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxoxo

Her effusiveness was a little put on, yes, but Annie was trying to get herself there. She really, really had missed him, even if she was already feeling a little uneasy about her decision to -- at least for this first visit -- try to keep things positive, and to just...move on from the stuff that had happened last week.

They didn't have that much time. Why ruin the few hours they had together right now by bringing up...you know, awfulness?

[for he who is visiting, of course! ETA: NWS]

Comments

[knife_bender]

Diego had known Vought was a big deal, but standing in front of a giant skyscraper was a whole different thing. It was also weird going up to security and saying he was there to see Starlight, and worrying he'd be rejected because he really did not seem like the type of person who would be visiting anyone in The Seven. At least he was dressed like a normal human being since he was supposed to keep a low profile here, and the whole Special Ops thing he usually went for was sort of conspicuous.

He made it onto the elevator without being stopped and questioned, so that was a good sign.

[vought_npcs]

"Hold the door," called a voice, as a floating bodysuit made its way to the elevator.

Translucent was shuffling through some papers as he stepped into the elevator, which were of course just floating there, but at least it was probably easy to tell that he was looking down at them from the angle of his also-floating glasses.

[knife_bender]

Well. That was new. In theory he knew that the other members of The Seven lived here, but for some reason he didn't think that meant he'd actually be seeing them.

Or not seeing them, in this case.

He really was trying his hardest not to stare at the pair of floating glasses, but it was a really long elevator ride, okay?

[vought_npcs]

"You want an autograph or something?" Translucent didn't look up from where he was paging through his papers -- no one had done anything about the black market problem and his shares were hurting for it -- but he could feel when he was being stared at.

Or something.

He could have also gone ahead and made himself visible, but what was the point of living in the Tower if you couldn't just be yourself?

[knife_bender]

"Nope," Diego replied, turning his head to look at the wall. "Nope, I'm good. Thanks."

[vought_npcs]

"Who you seeing on ninety-nine?" Translucent asked idly, actually looking up and glancing over. He didn't look like Maeve's type, so his money was on the new girl.

[knife_bender]

"I'm a friend of Starlight's." Yep. Just friends.

It was real weird seeing a pair of floating glasses looking at you.

[vought_npcs]

The floating glasses kept looking at him, though the movement of them might have indicated a slight once-over.

"Huh."

Translucent managed to include so much dismissiveness in his tone, there.

"She's kind of stuck-up," he added, as the elevator slowed.

[knife_bender]

Diego had to do an honest to god double take because he was so thrown by the insult. He didn't think he had heard anybody say a bad thing about Annie, ever. "Wait--what?"

[vought_npcs]

"Stuck up," Translucent repeated, shuffling his papers back in order as the doors opened. "Your friend. Tell her she could stand to loosen up if she wants to stick around."

It was one thing for Maeve to tell him to go to hell when she realized she wasn't alone in private spaces, but now she had the new girl doing it, too.

[knife_bender]

Diego really had to muster what little amount of chill he had to not immediately throw a punch. Just had to remind himself that it probably wouldn't help Annie, it would break his hand, and there was a chance he'd miss which would be embarrassing.

He was very grateful when the door opened, so he could get the hell out of there. "Absolutely not going to do that, but thanks for the unsolicited advice."

[vought_npcs]

"Just trying to pass along a little wisdom from someone who's been on the team a lot longer than her," Translucent replied, and while it was not possible to see him roll his eyes, his long-suffering sigh probably indicated that he thought this was all a lost cause, anyway.

And with that, he turned left and walked down a hall lined with posters of himself and his teammates.

[knife_bender]

"Asshole," Diego murmured before turning right. So that was one member of The Seven he already didn't like.

It wasn't exactly the best way to start this visit, but he did feel a little bit better when he saw the door that said Starlight on it. He knocked, figuring he didn't want to just walk in if she was in the middle of something important.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie opened it in a matter of seconds, because all she'd been doing was lounging around on one of her big white couches and scrolling on her phone. As nervous as she was about this visit -- which was super weird, what reason did she have to be nervous? -- she still couldn't resist the immediate urge to fling herself at Diego in greeting.

She'd missed him. Everything was a little weird, sure, but that much was true and clear and easy to fall back on.

"You made it," she said against his neck, and like, Annie, you might want to watch it on the strength of that hug before you actually hurt your boyfriend.

[knife_bender]

Diego did not care that it hurt a little bit, he was just so relieved to see her. He wrapped his arms around her, not really caring that they were doing terribly at this "no, we're not dating" thing already.

"Of course I did. Security wasn't that difficult to get by," he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Look, Starlight clearly was just an affectionate person who missed her friends, okay?

All the same, she did peek out into the hall to see if anyone was out there -- no, just the cameras, but pfff -- and tugged Diego in so she could shut the door.

"It's a weirdly easy building to navigate once you know where you're going," she added, clinging to him again once she had the door closed. "For how big it is. Oh my God, it's so good to see you."

And to hold onto him and to feel his heartbeat and to smell him and all of the vaguely creepy yet comforting things she hadn't realized she'd missed this much until right this second.

[knife_bender]

Diego would complain about the clinging never. He was doing the same thing, taking in the little things that he had missed, and assuring himself that nothing had changed.

"I missed you so much," he murmured, nuzzling against her neck. "You have no idea."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Nothing had changed! Zero things had changed. Annie, for one, was totally the same and if anything, maybe more fine than she'd been in Fandom. So fine. The finest.

That being said, though, she let out a humorless little laugh as she pulled back a little, starting to feel a little...weirdly claustrophobic, even as much as part of her wanted to hang onto him forever. "I have a pretty good idea."

She'd spent the better part of a week convincing herself she hadn't made a horrific mistake, after all.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, I guess you do," he said, pulling back and getting his first good look at the apartment. "Found out Translucent is a dick, by the way."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I could've told you that. What'd he do?" Annie asked, though she also followed his gaze and gestured to her surroundings with one arm. "Also, welcome to the hype apartment."

It still didn't feel like hers, but at least it was pretty comfortable. And she'd stuck photos of friends pretty much everywhere she could to make up for it. (In fact, there was a framed photo of the two of them on one end table, as well as one on her nightstand in the bedroom.)

[knife_bender]

"Just was talking shit on the elevator," Diego said. "This place is huge."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Right? Especially for just me." Which didn't make it lonely, no, why would anyone ever think that? "He's got a lot of nerve talking shit, considering Queen Maeve and I found him hanging out naked in the ladies' room the other day."

And from how Maeve had acted, it wasn't exactly, like, an unusual occurrence.

[knife_bender]

"That's so gross." And not very superhero-like at all. "Did somebody kick his ass?"

He could have been sporting a black eye, it's not like Diego would have seen it.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"She might have," Annie said noncommittally, ignoring the way her pulse had started pounding because Translucent was hardly the only gross guy okay with boundary violations on the team, and if they got too far into talking about this, Annie didn't trust herself not to blurt out how much worse it had been with The Deep.

Instead of elaborating, she was just going to lean forward and hug him again and just will herself not to feel weird about any of this, if she could. "It's so good to see you."

[knife_bender]

Diego laughed a little at being hugged again. This whole situation was weird, but at least this part was easy.

"Felt way longer than a week," he said, reaching up to cup her cheek.