MHA #2 | Late Tuesday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

American Hero had wrapped fairly early tonight -- Annie had told yet another hero who did not actually have a cape to hang it up and go, anyway, met with her producers for a moment after the show, and been left with enough time to actually make it back to the tower before her portal.

And good thing, too, since there had been a package left for her. Annie was very used to receiving Starlight swag -- honestly, at this point, she was pretty sick of it -- but this was...unexpected. There might have been an actual, audible, "Eep," of shock when she'd opened the box. (Though, really -- she'd just recently learned that Vought made porn in her image. Should it really surprise her so much that they also made other things?)

Anyway. She'd shoved one of the Starlight-themed items into a closet to...probably never be used, but the other had somehow made it into her bag to take home to Fandom with her. (Maybe it just fell in there, okay. Annie wasn't admitting to anything.)

"I had to kick off the guy with the electric shock powers," Annie was saying as she let herself into the MHA building and headed for her own apartment. She'd been on the phone since she'd gotten out of her portal in Fandom. "Both kind of a shame and kind of a relief."

She figured the guy she was on the phone with -- who she was also smiling at, as soon as she got the door open -- could understand that position after last year.

Of course she and Diego were people who talked on the phone right up until the moment they actually saw each other. What did you expect?

[for the fiancé, and that link is NSFW because my canon, everyone, let me show it to you. (and the post itself is also definitely going NSFW sooner than later.)]

Comments

[knife_bender]

"Need to diversify powers anyway," Diego said, both into to the phone and to Annie since she had just walked in. They were so disgusting. He ended the call and just kept on going like the conversation had been in person the whole time.

Because, again, disgusting.

"And nobody needs the reminder of Stormfront."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Exactly. Even if I kinda wanted to see if I could use him for power, because how sweet would that be?" Annie admitted, putting her phone away and crossing over to give him a kiss hello now that she could.

Though, seriously, huge wasted opportunity there. She needed to make a friend with electric powers. (A friend who didn't turn out to secretly be a Nazi who wanted to kill her.)

[knife_bender]

He had been waiting for that hello kiss ever since she called him! "I missed you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I missed you too," Annie murmured, lingering a bit and sliding her arm up around his neck. "It felt extra-long this week."

Nope, same Sunday to Tuesday night it always was. If anything, it was shorter than a lot of weeks because sometimes she didn't roll in until Wednesday. Maybe it just felt longer because she'd been kept busy and no one at work talked to her except Alex. (Even Maeve was kind of hard to find in her spare time.)

[knife_bender]

"It did," he agreed. But it always felt long to him. Possibly because he basically did nothing but work out and watch TV until she got back. "But now we get to make up for lost time."

Those long, long, less than 72 hours of lost time.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That's always the best part of coming back home," Annie replied, smiling as she leaned up for another kiss. "I brought a surprise, too."

A surprise that was already making her blush, even as she wasn't explaining what it was just yet, so good thing she was covering for it with that kiss.

[knife_bender]

Diego was easily distracted enough by that kiss to not notice the blushing just yet. Honestly, kissing could distract him from a burning building.

"What kind of surprise?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?" Annie replied, pulling back with a lifted eyebrow. "But a good surprise, I think."

A surprise in the form of something that they'd at least talked about (while Annie blushed and blushed) a few months prior, anyway.

"They came out with some new Starlight products," she offered, as a little -- completely unhelpful -- hint.

[knife_bender]

"Is this surprise going to require us to get rid of clothes?" That's usually how their surprises went.

[defenderofdesmoines]

Annie tilted her head in thought. "Not...necessarily, I think?" she decided, which was honestly probably the best answer. "Probably should, though."

Don't mind her just going ahead and doing a little bedroom-ward steering, too.

[knife_bender]

"Well now I'm really intrigued," he said, allowing himself to be herded to the bedroom. Usually that meant good things for him so he was happy to go. "And you said it has to do with new Starlight products?"

When he found out what it was he wouldn't be surprised, but for some reason Vought making sex toys wasn't really occurring to him right now. Because he was a normal person.

[defenderofdesmoines]

It might have also been a clue how Annie was bringing her bag along, when normally she would have absolutely shed that somewhere out in the living room in favor of just one less thing encumbering her in the pursuit of getting everyone's clothes off as fast as possible.

"Yup," Annie agreed, leaning up for another kiss as she herded him, her cheeks brightening again. And while she was at it, she could also try to get Diego's shirt off while they moved back to the bedroom, too. Efficiency. "And I don't know whether I like it or not yet, actually."

She'd probably know better in a little while.

[knife_bender]

"Well now I'm really confused." But he did help her take his shirt off, since he wasn't confused about getting naked as soon as possible.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Do you remember that Valentine's party we went to?"

A mostly rhetorical question, since she didn't expect that he would have forgotten the party they'd attended in a sex shop like, less than six months ago. But that was also another hint, even if Annie was now distracting herself with running her hands appreciatively over Diego's now-bare arms and shoulders.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah." Diego didn't go to many parties so it wasn't all that hard to remember, even if it hadn't been at a sex store. He lifted an eyebrow. "...Vought's making dirty stuff now?"

Other than the porn. He knew about the porn, unfortunately.

[defenderofdesmoines]

He knew more about the porn than Annie did, honestly.

"Vought's making dirty stuff," Annie confirmed with a smile, throwing her bag vaguely towards the bed once they were close enough -- where they could reach the contents from the bed, anyway -- before reaching to pull off her own shirt. She was blushing so hard she half-expected herself to start glowing, but she also wasn't going to pretend this wasn't something she'd wanted since that conversation in February. "I have my very own, um -- Starlight sex toys."

[knife_bender]

Diego's face lit up, and not from blushing. More like anticipation. "No way. For real? Toys as in plural?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah, there's two," Annie replied, looking a little shy even as she was smiling. "But I only brought one of them home."

Annie had been fairly sure the other one was a butt plug, and that lack of total certainty was probably a great indication that Annie was not, under any circumstances, ready for that kind of thing.

[knife_bender]

Yeah if you weren't completely sure what the other toy was then you weren't ready for it. Just a good general rule to have.

"I just have to say it's kind of weird Vought is in the sex toy business," Diego said, moving to get her pants undone. He was getting so much better at the pants foresight. "But I'm not complaining that they gave you a free sample and you brought it home."

He hadn't even seen it yet, but he was pretty confident he'd like it.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah, and I don't know if I like having my brand used this way," Annie admitted. Though was it worse than the porn? At least in this case, she was benefitting and presumably people were having a nice time without exploiting anyone. "Though I guess it's pretty Starlight to -- um, be an independent woman."

Even if she'd brought it home to use it cooperatively, she knew that was probably more the exception, rather than the rule. She reached to undo his pants as well -- speaking of cooperation -- and moved to press a kiss to his upper chest.

[knife_bender]

Diego smiled at the wording, now having a fairly good idea of what it was. "That is very Starlight. But, you know, there is something to be said for teamwork."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"And we're so good at teamwork," Annie agreed, kissing up along his shoulder (and not using it as an excuse to hide a little, how dare you) as she pushed his pants down. "It's important to work together."

Another important value of Starlight's! Maybe this did fit her branding more than she thought. (Also: maybe Vought didn't give a fuck if it did.)

[knife_bender]

Diego kicked his pants off the rest of the way, while at the same time pushing down hers. Multitasking. "Are you going to show me or am I going to have to go looking for it myself?"

Both options were fine by him.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I didn't have time to hide ten decoy sex toys, so I guess I can just show you."

Annie thought she was hilarious, yes.

She kicked her own pants off, sliding a hand down Diego's arm to take his hand as she moved over onto the bed and reached into her bag. She gave him one last shy look before producing a remarkably tasteful white-and-gold-and-starred vibrator.

"It's called the Star-brator."

[knife_bender]

Diego did have to admit that he had been expecting something tackier considering Vought was involve. But this was extremely classy. For a vibrator.

"The name could use some work," Diego said. "But it's very on brand, I'll give them that."