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"Can't believe I'm fucking doing this." Michael muttered as he trudged up apartment stairs, making his way to 221B. Vav had called him the day before and cashed in his free date nearly a month after their little run-in, telling the auburn-haired man to pick him up at his apartment, considering Michael had since gotten a car for safety reasons and apparently the dumbass hero didn't own one.
'Oh but you owe him for saving you!' Michael's inner monologue argued in a mocking tone and he hissed.
He knocked on the door, perhaps more harshly than necessary, and tapped his foot impatiently as shuffling could be heard.
The light from inside made Michael blink as a man was revealed to stand before him. He was tall and tan with styled golden-brown hair and hazel eyes; there was no doubt he was Vav. However, he wasn't in his superhero uniform, as he had promised not to be.
Instead he wore a tight polo and impossibly skinny jeans. He grinned at Michael and the latter was annoyed to find it oddly charming.
"Hi, Michael!" He held out his hand and Michael shook it hesitantly. "I'm Gavin! Come in!"
"Not too original with hero names, are you?" Michael breathed out.
"Wot?"
"Nothing. So, is this your lair or something?" The apartment looked like any other, though Michael wasn't quite sure what he had expected.
"Never thought of that, but I guess so! Hey, Ray! We have a secret lair!" He called excitedly and a shorter man with dark hair and thick glasses rounded the corner, smiling brightly.
"That's fucking awesome! We should add some cool shit in here." Ray mused as he looked around. "Hey, Michael." Ray greeted him with a cheery wave and Michael grunted.
"Can we just do this? ...What are we even doing?" He sighed, slouching his shoulders.
"Well, my little Michael-"
"Don't call me that."
"I figure that I really only have one chance to impress you, so I'm going to make this extravagant!"
"Don't you dare put on your suit."
"I'm gonna-aww really? Fine, I won't wear the bloody suit." Gavin grumped before his usual grin reappeared, full-fledged. "Just follow me to our little balcony. Later, X-Ray!" He motioned for Michael to follow through a glass-pane door, hopping on the balls of his feet eagerly.
"So are we just gonna stand out here all night or something?" Michael asked, shuddering slightly in the cold air. He sniffled, nose still a bit off from the mugging.
"Nah. That'd be boring! C'mere." He made to pull Michael towards him and the older man jumped back, shaking his head.
"Oh, no! I know exactly what you're planning to do and I don't fucking want to. I'm still partly convinced it hadn't happened the last time!" That was true; he'd told himself that he was a little too hopped up on adrenaline from the mugging and that he'd imagined the flying part.
"Oh hush, you pleb! It'll be fun!" He yanked Michael's arm and pulled him to his chest, ignoring his curses and squirming as he took off. Michael screamed but stopped fighting, not wanting to fall.
"Jesus fucking Christ! You're a fucking psycho!" Michael yelled as they began to move through the air. Gavin merely let out a bark of laughter, twirling through the air. Michael groaned, hiding his face as they made their way above the clouds.
"Michael, look!"
"Fuck you, fucking asshole!"
"Seriously look!" Gavin prodded his side and Michael smacked him, unwillingly opening his eyes. Gavin turned him around slowly so they were chest-to-back with Michael facing towards the ground.
He had to admit, it was beautiful. The sun was setting and brought with it magnificent hues of pinks and oranges that painted the tops of the fluffy clouds, melting into stars dotting the horizon. It was cold but stunning and Michael took it all in, his chocolate eyes wide.
"It's lovely, innit?" Gavin called cheekily and Michael pursed his lips.
"It's alright. Fucking freezing though, dumbass." He complained and Gavin giggled before lowering them, the cloud vapor wetting Michael's freckled face and filling his vision with white as they passed by until they broke through to the other side.
The view there was just as stunning, but in a different way. Lights glittered everywhere, tall buildings reaching out to the sky. Ant-sized cars moved below them on thin lines of dark pavement, weaving between modern-day temples created by man himself.
They began to slow as they reached a rather talk skyscraper, straightening out as Gavin prepared for landing. Michael flinched nervously as they connected with the roof, his feet stumbling slightly on the concrete.
"You're an asshole." Michael pushed away from the hero, walking around a large tube.
"Oh c'mon, you liked it! Besides, I brought you here to show you this." Gavin disappeared around one corner and Michael followed grudgingly.
"You've got to be fucking with me." He stared in mild horror at the table set up between two chairs, plates of food prepared on either side and an unlit candle in the center. A jacket hung on one of the chairs and Michael stared at it longingly, rubbing his bare arms; he knew he should've worn his hoodie.
"I, um, got the idea from a movie, and the girl seemed to like it. Do you?" He stared at Michael earnestly, biting his lower lip.
Michael glared at his hopeful face for a moment before deflating. "Yeah, it's pretty okay. Fucking cliche though." He remarked, but Gavin was already beaming again, rushing to grab the jacket and placing it on Michael's shoulders. The older man looked in disbelief at the complete ridiculousness of the situation but pulled the jacket on nevertheless; he was fucking cold.
"Take a seat, luv!" Gavin cooed and Michael blanched, dropping down on the nearest chair. "I can't really light the candle with the wind and all. It's just for show, I guess." Gavin's brow furrowed as if he was just realizing how stupid the entire idea had been, something Michael had deduced from the very beginning. "The food should be good, though! Ray made it. We usually just eat out but I thought this would be better." He offered a fork to Michael and the latter took it, inspecting the chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn meal in front of him.
He shoveled in a forkful of meat and nodded at Gavin's puppy-like look.
"Yay! I also got beers! I'm not much one for for champagne or something, I hope you don't mind." Michael perked up at the promise of beer, quickly taking it when it was provided. He popped the cap and took a hearty swig; maybe the date wouldn't be a total bust if he got drunk enough.
"Michael, can I ask you something?"
"Um, I guess." He sighed, swirling potatoes onto his fork.
"Do you hate me?" Michael looked up at this to see Gavin staring down at his plate, cheeks red.
Did he? No, he thought, he didn't hate him. He was annoying, incredibly stupid, but his intentions were good-hearted and he seemed nice, if not a bit cocky. "Nah Gavin, I don't hate you." He finally answered, surprised by the warmth he felt at the small smile that formed on the hero's lips.
"I have some questions, though. Like, what's up with the whole powers and hero thing?" He asked between mouthfuls and Gavin straightened, excitement clear in his features.
"Oh, it's top! I used to live in Britain and started noticing weird things I could do in high school. Like, I was stronger than everyone else, or I was faster. Then one day I was really annoyed at my brother, he's Johnny by the way, right mong he is, and I just started to sorta... Levitate!" He lifted his arms to emphasize, his face lighting up at the memory. "Of course I was in a panic. Actually, I couldn't figure out how to get down for a solid hour, just kept rising until I was flat against the bloody ceiling." Michael snorted at that, imagining the slender man whining and flailing about, and the Vav stuck his tongue out. "It was a tad troubling!"
"I can imagine." Michael cocked an eyebrow, still smirking crookedly.
"Well, it wasn't long after that that I moved to America to fulfill my dream of slow-motion cinematography."
"How'd that go?" Michael asked, slightly curious now.
"Right well! I've done slow motion for several movies like Hot Fuzz, Sherlock Holmes, Top Gear, Planet Earth, Snow White and the Huntsmen, and Dredd. I really love it." He stared off dreamily for a moment. "I used my powers for little things like enjoying the scenery from above. And it keeps me from needing a car. Then I met Ray online and we got to talking, and I found out he has the power to look through things. Y'know, like an x-ray! And he said that he could fly, too, and he had lazer eyes! He's really quite incredible, actually, much better than a clumsy goof like me." He shrugged and there was no malice in his words, only a sad opinion he had accepted as factual. It bugged Michael for some reason.
"We met up and got an apartment together, and decided that we would try out being heroes! We thought maybe we could get famous like in the movies, though we aren't really into wealth or anything. We want to help, y'know? Inspire. Maybe have t-shirts with our logos on them for kids to wear. God, can you imagine if a kid actually looked up to me?" He frowned.
"But... We're just a couple of mongs making a mess of things, I guess. I mean, look at you. If I'd have left you alone, you wouldn't have gotten hurt. I just mucked it up more."
"Don't think like that." Michael interrupted, voice firm as he rested a hand on Gavin's shoulder. "You fucked up this one time, yeah, but everyone fucks up. I can't count how much stupid shit I do in a week. I'm an electrician, by the way. It's not nearly as glamorous as your job, but it pays the bills. I fuck up all the time. Actually, there was this one time I used the bathroom at a client's house and fucking clogged it. They had no plunger so I literally punched that shit down." Michael admitted and Gavin giggled.
"That's absurd!" He squealed, gagging slightly, and Michael felt pride at cheering the young man up.
"Exactly! Listen, you're gonna fuck up a lot, and it's probably going to be really embarrassing most of the time, but what you can do is incredible. You can fly for Christ's sake! You're a hero.. Vav." He smirked and Gavin blushed, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully. "Besides, if you hadn't come down that alley, we wouldn't be sitting here. And what a fucking tragedy it would be if I hadn't met you." Michael rolled his eyes.
"You're funny, Michael." Gavin mumbled, smiling softly. "I like you."
Michael didn't say anything to that, choosing instead to finish off his meal.
"So, tell me about you. Who is Michael?" Gavin rubbed his stubbly chin as if it was a philosophical question. Michael scoffed, striking a pose.
"Michael Vincent Jones, thank you very much!"
"Gavin David Free." The younger interrupted and Michael nodded in acknowledgement.
"I was born and raised on the tough streets of Jersey. My parents were super Catholic, believe it or not, but it was never really my thing, y'know?"
"Would've never guessed." Gavin snarked, snorting at the glare he received.
"ANYWAYS, I have a brother and we used to get into the dumbest fucking fights all the time. Y'know, sibling shit. I moved here to join a friend in his little electrician business, as I mentioned previously, and just sorta made my home here. It's really not all that exciting. I definitely don't have any secret powers or anything like you, though I like to call myself Mogar when I play video games." He simpered and Gavin sniggered.
"You never know! You could be a hero, Michael."
"Pssht. I already know I'm a motherfucking hero." He teased and they shared a smile.
When they had both eaten their fill, Gavin pulled Michael to him once more, flying off into the now-dark sky littered with stars too far away to possibly comprehend their enormity.
They landed gracefully in front of Gavin's apartment complex and Michael couldn't help but wonder how the hero could ever see himself as a clumsy fool.
"I had a really great time, Michael. I really hope you'd want to do it again with me some time." Gavin murmured, standing in front of the door. Michael elbowed him playfully, smirking.
"Sure. Just don't try so hard next time, okay? Maybe we could do something simple like go to the bar or something."
"I had to impress you somehow! I thought you were going to rip my bloody head off."
"Sure, sure." Michael quipped, turning to walk towards his car. He paused, however, delivering a quick peck to Gavin's cheek that had both of their faces heating up.
"By the way," He called behind his shoulder as he strolled away, holding back a laugh as the young man tripped in his hurry to face him. "I find you tolerable."