The Lamplighter Memorial Theater | Friday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

It had been over a year since Annie had joined The Seven, and while she was pretty used to being in the spotlight, this movie premiere was actually kind of unique for a few reasons.

First of all, it wasn't every day you got to watch yourself on a big screen, on a set you knew was mostly green screen, and cringe a little as your bodysuited self faced down a Stormfront played by the hopefully-controversy-free Charlize Theron.

Secondly, Annie had received an insane offer today, and it had been impossible to concentrate on the movie given that. She still didn't know what she was going to do. (She knew what she wanted to do, but -- it was just a really big decision.)

Thirdly, everyone was here. Not just her team, but she'd spotted Hughie and his boss from the FBSA, Victoria, earlier. Mr. Edgar was out at the front of the throng of reporters with Ashley, and Adam Bourke was giving interviews in which he kept cross-hatching his fingers and talking about releasing the Bourke cut.

And Annie, for the first time ever during her tenure on this team, had someone with her on the red carpet.

"Are you ready?" she asked Diego, slipping her hand into his. As soon as they actually left the theater and stepped out onto the red carpet, it was going to be all flashes and attention.

Diego	"As I'll ever be." This was definitely a bigger crowd of press and fans that he had ever had to deal with when he was part of the Umbrella Academy. He also wasn't a big fan of the majority of the people he had to be on the red carpet with. Still, it was a comfort to know that everyone would mostly be focused on Annie, not him. And she looked amazing, so, he couldn't blame them.
Starlight	Annie was kind of considering wearing a red lip on the regular, since that was the only change to her usual Starlight look for tonight, but it really suited her! And speaking of, she was very mindful of her lipstick when she leaned up to give Diego a quick, supportive kiss. "We've got this." With that, she gave his hand another squeeze, and led them out to where the crowd of reporters was already shouting, "Starlight! Starlight, over here!" Lest he feel left out, though, there were also a few scattered shouts of, "Diego! Look this way!" and "Starlight's fiancé! What'd you think of the movie?"
Diego	Yep, this was already terrible. He ignored the questions and the directions people were shouting and tried to smile like this wasn't the most uncomfortable experience ever. At least he wasn't the only person who looked to be uncomfortable on the red carpet? Diego felt like he nailed it so long he wasn't looking as awkward as Hughie currently was.
Starlight	Yeah, Hughie was like....discomfort personified. And Homelander also clearly wasn't doing well, but Annie at least knew why. She also ignored most of the questions, instead just offering out a fairly relaxed, practiced smile as she made a point to loop her arm through Diego's and lean her head against his shoulder. Both because it was going to be a very cute photo, but also because she needed him to know she was there with him, as uncomfortable and shitty as this was. Or, well. She was going to be with him through most of it. The shouts were now fading into a recurring call for, "Singles! Singles, please!" Annie glanced up at Diego, trying to apologize with her eyes even as she kept smiling. "Catch up with you in a second?"
Diego	Diego looked downright relieved to be told to wander away. He leaned in to press a kiss to her temple (you're welcome, photographers), and moved to let her get the spotlight. He'd just go stand next to...god his choices here were people who sucked, people who sucked slightly less and Maeve (who probably didn't want him near her). He'd figure it out.
A-Train	There had been an audible, "Awwww!" at the temple kiss, so the photographers were grateful. But unfortunately, Maeve was too busy smiling insincerely with her elbow on Homelander's shoulder to come over and rescue him a little. He was, instead, getting the next-best thing -- Annie's only remaining verbal, non-psychopathic teammate. "Diego!" And A-Train wasn't even shy about greeting him by name, making a big show of smiling in case the cameras were looking. "Looking sharp, man. Who're you wearing?"
Diego	"Fuck if I know," Diego said though a forced smile. "You look like you always do." So like a big, blue doofus.
A-Train	"I didn't give a fuck, anyway," A-Train replied, still smiling so genially that anyone looking at them would probably think they were having a wholesome conversation, perhaps about A-Train's next race, or Diego's upcoming wedding. But with that photo op out of the way, A-Train was totally going to wander off with a dismissive clap to Diego's shoulder.
Hughie	But instead, here was Hughie Campbell, in a suit that only served to make him look like he was ready to pose for senior pictures. He eagerly made his way over to Diego, who he still found pretty intimidating, but at least he was a familiar face? And besides, spending an afternoon watching porn with a fucking sociopath together probably was kind of a bonding experience, right? "I think I'm gonna go blind from flashes."
Diego	"Try not to look directly at them," Diego said, oh-so-helpfully. "You clean up nice."
Hughie	"Thanks, dude," Hughie replied, actually standing up straighter and looking all the ganglier for it. "I like what you've done with your hair." Hughie knew he could never pull that kind of hair off. Like, at all. Literally not even in a dream.
Diego	"Thanks. They wouldn't let me cut my hair in the insane asylum," Diego replied, fully to fuck with Hughie a little. "So you got the special job of coming here to represent the US government?"
Hughie	That was effective. Hughie was left kind of staring at Diego for a long moment before he realized he'd been asked a question. Again: Diego had already been intimidating. "Um. Uh, yeah," he stammered, nodding. "Yeah. Or, well, we both did." He nodded to where Congresswoman Neuman was smiling next to Stan Edgar a few feet away. "Vought sent us engraved invites, even." It was very important that Vought be seen welcoming the oversight of the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, you see.
Diego	"Fancy." He recognized Congresswoman Neuman from the ill-fated judicial hearing with the head explosions. His father had instilled a healthy dislike of politicians into him, but she looked like a nice enough lady. "At least it seems like Vought invited you guys to kiss your ass and not the other way around?"
Hughie	"Oh, yeah, that's the way it goes," Hughie agreed, still a little bewildered by that fact. He actually told people what to do! People kissed his ass sometimes! "'Cause that's what'll keep us from looking too hard into anything, right? Engraved invitations to premieres for kind of bad movies." And forgive him if his glance slid over to A-Train for a second. There was still a grudge there. (There would always be a grudge there.) He did remember himself after a second and added a, "No offense. Annie was great."
Diego	"None taken." Diego was fairly sure everyone involved knew they weren't making Oscar winners. Well, maybe not the director. He came off as kind of delusional. "Congrats on the job, by the way," Diego said. "Must be exciting to be a part of something on the up-and-up." Yeah, Diego had no idea their operations usually ended messily.
Hughie	"Yeah," Hughie agreed with an actually genuine, non-nervous smile. "Kinda a big change from how things were going last year." No Billy Butcher to be found, and all. (Not that Hughie wasn't still definitely, totally in contact and working with the man, of course.) "And congrats to you," he added, kind of awkwardly moving to give Diego a little shoulder nudge and then, halfway through, losing his nerve and turning it into putting his fist up to bump, instead. "Engaged! That's exciting."
Diego	Diego smiled at the awkwardness, but returned the fist bump. He wasn't one to ever deny a fist bump (unlike some siblings he could name). "Thanks, man," he said with a more genuine smile this time. "I'm pretty excited. We're just trying to keep it low-key but it's been hard with the--" He waved his hand towards the flashing lights.
Victoria Neuman	"Your girlfriend -- fiancée, sorry -- is literally maybe the most famous person in the entire world," Hughie replied, nodding. "It's like...her, Homelander, and Jesus." And he was pretty sure Starlight was the one most people liked the best of those choices. But, on that note, Congresswoman Neuman herself made her way over, smiling widely in spite of the fact that her greeting was a strained, "Kill me."
Diego	Diego couldn't help but grin. At least he wasn't the only person hating this. "Too much schmoozing for you?"
Victoria Neuman	"On top of having to watch that pile of garbage? We're in Geneva Convention territory," Victoria replied easily. She stuck a hand out, her smile turning a little less forced. "You're Mr. Starlight, right? Victoria."
Diego	"People call me Diego sometimes too," he said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."
Victoria	"Diego," she repeated carefully with a smile, like someone who met a lot of people and but still wanted to convey warmth. "Likewise. Terrible circumstances, of course." It really had not been a good movie. She turned to Hughie. "If we sneak out the back, I can get the car to come find us before someone gets a camera in my face again. It was good meeting you, Diego," she added, with Hughie already by the elbow and waving over her shoulder.
Diego	Ugh, they were so lucky, getting to leave. Diego waved back before turning back to the red carpet, wondering if there was a spot he could hide. Maybe he could blend in with the publicists.
Starlight	He should be so lucky, considering Ashley had spotted him and was making her way over as quickly as her heels would allow. They'd gotten all this great coverage of Starlight, and if she could get a soundbite or two from the fiancé, then -- But, Diego was marrying a fellow superhero, and Annie's favorite thing about her job? The rare occasions when she actually got to save people. "You survived," Annie murmured, sidling up from where she'd been taking photos with the director, and taking Diego's arm. And Mr. Bourke, newly released from his photo op, was free to corner Ashley, thus sparing Diego. Worked out well for everyone!
Diego	"Somehow," he joked, giving her a smile. "Hughie and his boss sort of saved me from standing around awkwardly."
Starlight	"It's kind of hard to look like the awkward guy next to Hughie," Annie pointed out accurately. "I think we might be free to go? It's gonna take a second to get out of here but we can at least get away from the cameras. I mean, if that's something you'd want to do." Maybe he wanted to take some more photos with Maeve or Homelander?
Diego	"That is absolutely something I want to do," he said. "I don't know how much longer I can fake smile. My jaw feels like it's about to unhinge."
Starlight	"Give me one second," Annie promised, leaning up to give him another careful kiss before heading off to find someone helpful with a headset and a VoughtPad who could get them into a car. It took longer than a second, but it wasn't that much later that they were being hustled down the red carpet and into a limo with one final wave to the crowd. And as soon as the door was shut behind them, Annie exhaled a loud, clearly relieved sigh and sank back against the seat. "I love you so much. Thank you."
Diego	"It wasn't so bad," Diego said, relaxing against the seat. "Not something I want to do weekly, but it wasn't bad."
Starlight	Annie slid her hand over to take his, shooting him a grateful look. "It won't be weekly," she promised. "But there is something I have to talk to you about, with work." She'd wanted to tell him all day, but weirdly enough, movie premieres crawling with press were not a great spot for quiet discussion.
Diego	"They're not making you go back to that other Starlight uniform are they?" he asked, taking her hand.
Starlight	"No, but wasn't it weird seeing it?" Annie replied, making a little face. She glanced towards the partition between them and the driver, even though it was already up. Actually, maybe that was one of the things she could do with this promotion -- if she accepted. There was still a lot of bodysuit Starlight out there. "They want to promote me to co-captain."
Diego	"Really?" Diego broke out into a grin. "That's huge!" The more negative implications would get to him in a minute, but 'my fiancée got promoted' excitement came first.
Starlight	After Homelander's obvious anger, and that very tense meeting, and her own uncertainty -- that reaction was exactly what Annie had needed. She scooted closer, unable to squash down a smile of her own. "Yeah. I'd be the first female co-captain on any team. I could make such an actual difference. And I'd get final say on the new members." Which meant Alex and Silver Kincaid, who she'd become very impressed with, were shoo-ins.
Diego	"That's amazing, you totally deserve it," Diego said. "Wait--does Homelander know?"
Starlight	"Homelander was in the meeting, too," Annie told him, nodding and wide-eyed. "And he's not happy but I guess it's a done deal? The board already voted, and Mr. Edgar said all that's left is for me to say yes." Which she had not actually done yet. "It's -- I think it's kind of because of Homelander," she offered hesitantly. "And Stormfront, and...everything."
Diego	"That makes sense. Like, you're totally qualified and it's a great opportunity, but I can see how it's mutually beneficial," Diego said. "Are you gonna say yes?"
Starlight	"I don't know yet." She wanted to. She could, like, feel how good she'd be at this. She could pull The Seven out of their corners of debauchery and remind everyone what it actually meant to be a hero. This was why she'd wanted to be on this team her whole life. "I said no at first, but Mr. Edgar wants me to think about it." But she also knew that no matter how much good she could do, she would probably have to deal with power struggles with Homelander regularly. "Do you think I should take it?"
Diego	"If Vought isn't bullshitting about how much power you'll have then, yeah, I absolutely think you should take it." It'd be one thing if they wanted her to just stand there next to Homelander and smile for the cameras, but if this was an actual chance to have a say in things he was all for it. "I mean, there's Homelander, but it wasn't like you and him weren't at odds already," he said. "And he's pretty well leashed at this point, it seems like."
Starlight	"Yeah." This would be a good time to tell Diego about the Flight 37 video, but -- it had already taken Annie a little bit to reconcile what she'd seen with the woman she knew, and she didn't really want to put him in the position of seeing Maeve like that until she had to. "I mean, it kind of sucks but it's all a popularity contest, and I'm winning." She curled a little into Diego's side, sighing. "I could do a lot of good. But I'll probably be busier." And she was already pretty busy. That was a factor, too.
Diego	"Then I'll just have to spend more time here so we can be together," he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "I don't mind."
Starlight	"You're wonderful," Annie sighed, her shoulders relaxing a little bit. "Then...if you're on board, I think I'm gonna take it." And now that they were out of the premiere and headed back to the tower, she was going to lean up and kiss him without any worries about getting her lipstick on him. She was a little more worried about getting other things on him -- attention that she garnered, for one thing -- but he was right. Homelander was under control and wouldn't do anything to further compromise his position, and Diego could handle a few more cameras in his face and a little more time spent in New York, right? (Or at least, she should believe him when he said so.)

[borrowed and remixed a little from The Boys 3.01, 'Payback.' Preplayed with knife_bender. NFB, NFI, but OOC welcome!]