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There are some days where April felt herself getting sick of New York City. She loved her home. She did. But sometimes her nostrils would reset and reintroduce her to New York’s signature scent of air pollution and rotting street meat. Those days where the subway seemed smaller and slower with seats covered in a thin but unmistakable layer of grime. She really only felt like this when she had been burning the candle at both ends. Hustling across campus in the daytime to get to class, and pummelling foot goons and over grown bedbugs at nightfall.
She had barely recovered from her latest bought of New York fatigue when Donnie presented his idea for their Valentine’s plans. He had a short PowerPoint set up in his living room. He talked animatedly, waving one arm along with his speech while using the laser pointer in the other to highlight various New York hotspots. Some were fairly new or expensive so she hadn’t gotten to experience them for herself yet. Others were the more basic tourist staples like the Empire State Building or a cruise along the Hudson River.
His eyes lit up each time a new slide marked a new destination. Equal excitement at the thought of going to each of the places the laser pointed to. April then put something together that made her feel a bit foolish. Of course he was this excited about even the most tried and tired NYC landmark; He’d never properly been to any of them. Sure he’d flown over or fought outside most of them, but he’d never had a class trip to see lady Liberty. He’d never even been able to walk Times Square without pretending to be some niche mascot.
April tried not to dwell on how unfair that was. Who deserved to enjoy all NYC had to offer more than he did? April could just picture him glued to the plaques at the Met, or hanging onto each word of some overly theatrical tour guide, laughing obnoxiously at every half-baked pun they made. Oh and he’d just love the theatre wouldn’t he? It would take everything in him not to burst into song alongside the actors but he’d pride himself at sneakily recording the whole performance to relive when they got back to the lair. The more she thought about it, the more important it became that she be there with him the first time he visited any of these classic tourist traps.
Before Donnie had even finished his presentation their valentines plans had been set. They would spend the day as if they were tourists going on a romantic sweep of the city! Her one stipulation was that they’d have their date a few days before Valentine’s, to avoid the heavy traffic via actual tourists. Donnie gave a slight pout to this at first. He then seemed to be rearranging things in his mind a bit before his enthusiasm returned full stride and he agreed.
—-
They’d decided on February 10th. April waited just outside the lair. She had decided to really lean into the whole tourist thing and wore her “I ❤️ New York” top she normally used as pjs. She also bought a disposable camera just for today. They were taking as many cheesy, overly posed pictures as possible! The experience would hardly be complete without a scrapbook of them with every street sign, Broadway ad, or taxi they passed by on their tour.
When Donnie finally emerged he and April gave each other the same surprised once-over and laughed. They hadn’t meant to match, but it seems they both had the same idea on the dress code. Donnie wore a “ I survived New York and all I got was this lousy t shirt “ top, cuffed jeans, and a large digital camera swung from his neck.
“ What? No board shorts to complete the vacation vibe?” She teased.
He looked at her with offence, “ Absolutely not. This is still a date, April”.
He looked over at her again, a small blush dotted his face, “ You look perfect”
Now it was April’s turn to blush. PJ shirt aside she had spent a good amount of time finding the perfect skirt-tights-cardigan combo to go with it. Not to mention the work she put into her hair and makeup. She prayed those would last a whole day of zipping around New York.
Donnie noticed her blush- of course he did- and smirked. “You could say I look nice as well. Though I could tell with how you were checking me out a second ago so no need. Shall we get going, fair April?”
Evil. He was so cocky! Too much for his own good! Even if he wasn’t technically wrong about her checking him out before. Normal clothes suited him well. The stupid cheesy t shirt defined his muscles and she noticed. Sue her!
She hopped on her spot on his battle shell, silently promising to get him back for that comment later. He waited until she was secured then took off towards their first destination - the Empire State Building.
—
April had been right, going to even the most overdone NYC landmarks felt new with Dee. He had an unrestricted glee as he infodumped everything he could at each destination. He listened intently at her personal anecdotes from the spots she’d been to with classes or family. He often seemed wistful when hearing about her trips. Eventually he noted quietly to her that while part of him wished he could have gone to school trips and have family to come visit his hometown, he was glad he was able to experience it for the first time by her side. The look he gave her when he said this nearly made her melt.
He was the one visiting all these places for the first time, but he’d read so much on all of them in preparation that he became her private tour guide at each destination. It was a good thing too because when they had landed on top of the Empire State Building they had initially tried to slip into a tour group there, but that fell apart when Donnie corrected the actual guide. The guide was less than appreciative of the interruption and soon enough a heated debate broke out between the two that had the rest of the tour frantically googling each point they made- fact checking every argument. Donnie had been dominating the impromptu debate but as soon as he got one thing wrong, the guide swooped in and used it to discredit Donnie and reinstate his leadership over the group. In response, Donnie asked April to do something that, with anyone else, would be beyond insane. She wrapped herself around his shoulders as they stood at the edge of the platform. Donnie yelled out to the guide, “ bet you’ve never done this before!” Then jumped off the ledge. Donnie waited to hear the dramatic gasps and footfalls of people rushing to the edge before he zoomed up and over the crowd. “ Hover jet!” He boldly declared . “ Made it myself! Science has surpassed the view you grovel at! See ya suckers!”
After that, he apologized for cutting the first stop short, buying April a rose from an over priced street vendor and promising to keep the day just between the two of them from now on. And just like he had promised, the busy streets seemed to fade away. Crowds disappeared from their sight as they kept their focus on them, and whatever destination they set their sights on.
Everyone else only came back into view when they hit Times Square. They gone to the market and then shared a croissant as they people-watched. On actual Valentine’s Day, people were known to propose or even get married in the square. They knew no one would be getting married on the 10th but had hoped to see at least one proposal. No luck, but they did take pictures with the mascots Donnie scanned and deemed human. He also made a habit of buying her one rose from each flower vendor they passed and she had accumulated a sizeable makeshift bouquet. Even in such a busy place, not many people noticed Donnie or his less than human features. One boy had come up to them and asked point blank if he was one of the heroes that saved New York from invasion. Donnie, without hesitation said, “ no” in his most deadpanned tone and the boy moved on. Gotta love New York. They had decided to give up on seeing any grand acts of romance when people started asking April how much she was selling her roses for.
Currently, they were on the Hudson River, on a boat Donnie had crafted himself. They were unable to book a spot at any of the robot sushi restaurants on short notice, so Shelldon volunteered to give Donnie and April sushi a la Shelldon. April had been a bit nervous at that but Donnie assured her that Mikey had actually made the food and Shelldon was only serving them for the evening. Now though they simply sat together on the boat, watching the sun shimmer along the Hudson as it set on a seemingly endless day.
April moved her gaze from the sunset to Donnie. After such a jam packed day, she knew he must be exhausted. She was surprised he didn’t get overstimulated or overwhelmed at any point. She would’ve understood if they had to cut the day short. But he had been so energetic all day, zipping around the city. She would’ve lost him several times today if he hadn’t constantly made sure they were linked together; arm and arm or hand in hand. She had felt pumped with adrenaline just keeping up with him. Now, with full bellies and sore feet, they should be knocked out cold. But he didn’t look tired. He looked serene. It was such a rare sight to see him like this, without any racing thoughts or worries, no gears turning in that giant head of his. The storage on both their cameras had been completely filled hours ago, but she so badly wanted to preserve this expression of his. She stealthily pulled out her phone, raised it as close to his face as she could, and snapped a shot.
The flash blinded him momentarily, snapping him out of his peaceful trance. April winced “ sorry Dee”
Donnie smiled at her and shrugged “ that’s the price of being beautiful I suppose”
She rolled her eyes but returned his soft smile. She laid her head on his arm as he invited her closer, grabbing his digital camera and going over the photos he took of their date. She looked them over with him. Her eyes scrunched in disbelief. Every photo featured her, she expected that, but most photos were taken so that she was the main focus- to the point where you couldn’t even tell where they were for most of them! So many close ups and candids she hadn’t even realized he’d taken. “ Dee what the hell! You hardly got any of the attractions!”
“ I have to disagree with you there, April.” He gave her his signature smirk for what felt like the millionth time that day. “ Besides, you can’t really blame me. You’re a spotlight stealer. Lady Liberty just paled in comparison. The camera wants what the camera wants”
“ You dork” she chuckled and hit him lightly on the arm.
She relaxed against him again. Her body was still exhausted, but her mind was giddy and it made her feel lighter. She wrapped her arms around his, lest she float away. Maybe in a month or two someone rushing in an over crowded street would bump into her and knock her glasses into a puddle and she’d become agitated at city life again, but she knew she’d never really be sick of it. New York was her home. And if she ever needed a breather, she had the best of New York right under her arm, ready to take her up into the clouds with just a few simple words and cocky smirk and she’d never get sick of that.