MHA #2 | Wednesday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

No one had specifically asked Annie to try to stick to the island as much as she could lately, but she'd been doing her best. Partly because she wanted to, and partly because some things didn't need to be explicitly asked.

She had taken a quick trip to the tower earlier this week for some meetings she couldn't move, and seeing her teammates -- seeing one of her teammates, because let's be real, she really only had one teammate and then several assholes she also worked with -- gave her an idea.

An idea that she'd been working on via text message ever since, and was about to come to fruition here and now as she half-watched American Ninja Warrior and casually convincing herself that she could totally beat the dude on the screen's time (and she and Diego would absolutely destroy at the team version of this show, thanks for asking), and her phone gave a little buzz.

And when Annie looked at her screen, she couldn't suppress her smile at seeing that begrudging, all-lowercase answer. fine. "We're gonna have a visitor this weekend."

And now to convince her she didn't have to wear her breastplate.

[for the guy!]

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie showed him her phone, which sported a whole screen of Annie's pleas down one side and Maeve's little fine at the end.

"She doesn't agree to stuff without meaning it," Annie added, because that much was true. If Maeve said she'd come, she'd come. She'd probably bitch and moan the whole time, but that hadn't been negotiated, now had it?

"Obviously she has to get a hotel room." And that was all Annie was going to say about the state of her beautiful, comfortable, made-for-everyone-and-not-just-Five guest room.

[knife_bender]

"That's...surprising," he said. "And, yeah, she probably shouldn't step foot in here at all."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Much though I'd love for her to see where we live," Annie said, maybe a little wistfully. (And later, there would be resentment that Five's insane behavior and lack of boundaries was preventing her from giving an apartment tour to her lifelong idol, but c'est la vie.) "I didn't think she'd actually agree. Next step is seeing if she'll do it as a civilian."

Annie didn't even know Maeve's real name, so. Might be a tough ask.

[knife_bender]

"That'll be interesting. I wonder if she does the big sunglasses thing like you do," he joked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Hers are probably bigger because she never gets recognized," Annie sighed, shifting so she could snuggle a little closer to him. Though Annie's recognition had less to do with the size of her sunglasses and more to do with losing her temper on those fratty assholes last spring. "But that'll be kind of nice. I wasn't really expecting anyone."

Since, you know, most of the visitors she'd expect to host were lost in time at the moment.

[knife_bender]

"It'll be fun," he agreed. He had been trying to not think too hard on how he should be having guests this weekend, not wanting to bring Annie down. He was kind of grateful that she had a guest now so she wouldn't notice any brooding going on.

"Probably should stock up on some alcohol."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Oh, yeah, because Annie hadn't been on brooding high-alert and trying to help distract and comfort him for almost two weeks. For sure.

"I'll just take her back and forth between the bars. Eric and Kitty'll love her," Annie decided. Actually, this weekend was probably a really good one for the bars in general, she'd think, even setting aside the issue of alcoholic superheroes. "At least we know she's coming. Aren't a lot of these surprises?"

Like how Klaus was a surprise last year, right? And maybe he'd just turn up again this year. It seemed like the kind of thing the island might do.

[knife_bender]

"Last year was a surprise for me," he said. "But Klaus didn't know it was Parents Weekend, he was just looking for money."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Convenient for him," Annie noted, reaching to lightly thread her fingers through Diego's. "Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll come looking for money again."

Klaus' need for money seemed like such a force that it might actually supersede time travel nonsense.

[knife_bender]

Diego shook his head. "I don't want to get my hopes up. Best to just accept they're gone for now."

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie wilted just the teeniest bit. Diego's approach may have been the more realistic one, but she kind of lived in a keeping-her-hopes-up kind of space, anyway -- even if she was spending pretty much all her time these days going back and forth between worrying about him and trying to pretend she wasn't. "I'll just keep my hopes up for everyone, then," she replied quietly, leaning over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. "Do you want me to tell Maeve not to come? It's not, like, a great time."

Much though the distraction might be welcome.

[knife_bender]

"No, she should come," he assured her. "It'll be a good distraction."

And he felt like he was already bringing Annie down lately.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Only kind of. She'd rather be brought down by him than to see Diego try to fake his way through being cheerful for her.

"Maybe she'll have some ideas," she added, shrugging a shoulder. "I mean, not that we have time travel where I'm from, but she's resourceful." A pause, and, "And maybe she can help me plan your party."

The party that was in every way a good idea.

[knife_bender]

"You're doing an awful lot of planning," he noted.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Parties take planning," Annie countered. "At least, if you want them to be good, they do. You didn't see all the planning that went into that Christmas party."

Not that this was going to be on the scale of the Christmas party, of course.

[knife_bender]

"You know you don't have to go all out, right?" he said. "It's not like I have anything to compare it to."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah, I know, but that's also why I want to," Annie replied, tracing her thumb along the inside of his wrist. "Because you don't. And you deserve to be celebrated."

Five was debatable.

[knife_bender]

"Okay," he said, pressing a kiss against her jaw. "I'm just saying, I'll be impressed by anything you do."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I just want you to have a nice birthday," Annie replied, smiling. "It's important to me."

Which, Annie would eventually come to admit, might not be possible. But goddamn it, she would try.

"I tried to find a place that would decorate a cake with knives, but no dice so far."

[knife_bender]

He smiled slightly. "You'd think there would be an influx due to Halloween coming up."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I could probably get something really tacky and gory with, like, a knife stabbed into the cake with blood frosting," Annie replied thoughtfully, shifting closer to press a kiss to his neck. "But I want it to be classy. You deserve it."

Five was getting a margarita cake. Annie knew of about three things Five liked, and with Dolores gone, she was down to two.

[knife_bender]

"When people think Diego Hargreeves the word 'classy' definitely comes to mind," he said with a grin.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, I could go in the other direction," Annie replied, lifting a brow. "Karaoke. Get a piñata. Hire a clown to do balloon animals. But I thought a grown-up party was more your vibe."

...actually, a piñata wasn't a bad idea at all.

[knife_bender]

"You really want me and Five to be armed with bats?" he asked.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"...I would be willing to supply one bat," Annie said carefully, "because that's how piñatas work. And it's your birthday."

Surely everyone could put aside their disagreements and resentment for a day, right?