MHA #2 | Late Tuesday Evening

[defenderofdesmoines]

Given that it had been relatively clear out tonight, with no rain or wind in the forecast, Annie and Diego had finally made good on this idea of going back over to Baltimore for a little crimefighting date. And Annie, in turn, had made good on her long-told promise of getting leather pants -- they were tight, but she couldn't deny she looked really good. And like a total badass. Maeve would be proud. (And they were warm, which wasn't especially badass, but you spend most of your adult life fighting in a tulle skirt -- warmth becomes important.)

"I need to figure out how to fly without taking out an entire breaker panel," Annie was saying as she let herself back into the apartment and flipped on the lights. She wasn't still out of breath, exactly, but she was very pink-cheeked still from how fast they'd had to run away from their last set of criminals of the night -- she and Diego had spotted a couple of guys sort of...playing with a window, and while the fight hadn't taken especially long, they still hadn't wanted to be waiting there when the cops came. But this was one of those reasons why it was good to be in shape in their line of work! "How are your knuckles?"

Annie's kind of hurt -- lots of punching, since she hadn't wanted to attract a lot of attention with blasts -- but Annie also had super-skin. (And Annie was also clearly flying on a high of remembering she could do all of that. Even without the cape.)

[for that man she married!]

Comments

[knife_bender]

"Sore," Diego said, flexing the fingers of his right hand a little. "In a good way."

It had been awhile since he was able to give someone a beating like that. Even over the summer Diego's job had mostly been 'respectfully staying out of the way' rather than fighting.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Good. That was hot," Annie told him, reaching for his hand so she could press a kiss to those sore knuckles.

Also, seriously. It had been way too long since they'd fought together like that. Like, yes, it was great how this summer had largely kept Diego out of the fray -- she was not complaining that he'd been safe and in a position to instead support her -- but like...her husband was really hot when he punched people, okay?

[knife_bender]

Diego smiled at the kiss, moving to cup her cheek even though his hands were probably freezing. "What about you? Feeling good after your first night of vigilantism?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Yeah," Annie replied, giving a theatrical little shiver at the coldness of his hand (mostly just for effect, 'cause she was feeling kind of punchy from the adrenaline.) "It might be more fun doing this in, like, a really unofficial capacity? I mean, my authority was always kind of bullshit, anyway."

Especially in Baltimore, where it didn't exist anywhere but in her head, but still. Now she was really going around the law on all of this -- there wasn't any might about it. It was definitely more fun this way.

[knife_bender]

"Wow, now that you've got the taste of rebellion you can't stop," he teased. "Am I going to have to bail you out of jail one of these days?"

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You think you wouldn't be in the next cell over?" Annie replied, lifting a brow.

And if he was, she'd just bust them both out. Clearly.

[knife_bender]

"Hey, I don't know, you might want to go solo one night," he said, knowing that was highly unlikely. "Though I'd be disappointed to miss out on watching you in those pants."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Oh, do you like them?" She knew he liked them. She had gotten them for him. (Though, again: they were kind of cozy! Not great for the summer, and she was still breaking them in, but she got the appeal!) "They're really durable, I'll give you that."

She definitely would have risked ripping a pair of jeans with how she'd maneuvered tonight. Leggings would have been her second choice, probably, but that risked both being cold and looking silly.

[knife_bender]

"You look amazing in them," Diego said, moving to wrap his arms around her. "I knew you would."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I should've been taking wardrobe advice from you this whole time," Annie replied, winding her arms up around Diego's neck in turn (and restricting herself to just touching his neck with her fingertips until her hands warmed up a little more.) "They're more practical than any version of my uniform ever was. Though I don't know if they're an every day thing."

She had strangely-fitting, out-of-season white jeans to wear to work and around town, you know.

[knife_bender]

"But do you think it could be part of the vigilante thing full time?" he asked. "Not, like, a uniform."

Because they were staying away from uniforms.

"But, like, a preference for vigilanting."

Totally a word.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I mean, if we're still doing this in July, I might change it up," Annie suggested, sounding pretty hopeful that they'd still be doing this in July. "Do you think I'm good enough at vigilanting," which was totally a word, yes, "to keep doing it?"

Annie thought she was. (And more importantly: it had been so fun.)

[knife_bender]

"You're amazing at it," Diego said, leaning in for a kiss. "Even better than me."

It helped she could take punches better than him.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"You're a good teacher," Annie replied, smiling into the kiss.

And she meant it! Annie did not really come naturally to the sneaking part of being a vigilante, and had maybe needed a little help there.

[knife_bender]

Wearing black did like 90% of the work!

"I really had a lot of fun," he murmured. "I missed it."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I'm sorry we haven't gone back to our roots like that sooner," Annie told him, deciding her hands were probably warm enough to play with his hair by now. Stupid job. Less-stupid wedding. "But I want to do that, like...weekly."

Nightly, maybe, as long as they stayed uninjured? And no one had work or sibling obligations or important episodes of American Ninja Warrior to catch up on, et cetera.

[knife_bender]

Diego laughed. "I think we could manage weekly, so long as we don't piss off the cops. That's when things get tricky, trust me."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Is that when we get arrested?" Annie asked with a playful lift of her brows, like someone who had never actually been arrested. Beaten up and captured by Vought, sure. Called a criminal on the news in the 60s -- you know, who hadn't? But never arrested-arrested. "We should designate someone to bail us out if we end up pissing off the cops together."

[knife_bender]

"Oh, my siblings are pros when it comes to bailing people out of jail." Namely Klaus. "It was tougher when we weren't speaking--then I had to figure out bail on my own."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"That sounds harder," Annie noted, and really, she was aware she was starting the whole vigilante thing from an advantaged place in several ways. "You didn't have a friend to call and come lie to the cops for you?"

[knife_bender]

"Me? Have friends?" Come on, now.

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Not even one friend?" Annie tried, going onto her toes to give him another kiss. "I find that hard to believe. I'd love to be your friend."

Friend with benefits who she had a big crush on, maybe. Again: these two had never really been friends, ever.

[knife_bender]

"Making friends isn't my forte," he murmured. "But I'd make an exception for you."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"It's just 'cause you like how I look in leather pants," Annie teased, stepping a little closer to press her leather-panted self against him a little more snugly.

[knife_bender]

"I mean, it helps," he said, sliding one of his hands over her ass. "But even without them I think you'd be able to sway me."