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It had been a long day and you were relieved to return to the Watchtower. Sweat clung to every inch of your skin, and your muscles ached. Before anything else, you hopped into the shower and let the hot water wash all the tress of the day away.
Once you were finished, you dressed in cosy clothes and headed in search of food. You hoped that it wouldn’t be too loud or noisy in the shared kitchen upstairs. After a long day, the last thing you wanted was the team arguing.
Thankfully, when you got upstairs, the only person up there was Bob. He sat in his armchair, reading his book. Not wanting to disturb him too much, you asked if he wanted anything to eat before you went about making yourself food. As he’d already eaten, you figured instant ramen would do. The last thing you felt like was spending time to cook something. You wanted food, and you wanted it now.
With the steaming bowl of ramen, you sat on the couch and leaned back. You were glad that the TV had a fake fireplace on screen instead of the news. You didn’t want to know what the world thought about the latest save from the New Avengers.
“Uh, mind if I join you?” Bob asked.
“Of course not, come and sit.” You smiled and gestured to the huge space on the couch either side of you. Bob decided to sit next to you. He always did that. If he had to pick anyone to sit by, it was always you. You didn’t mind, you liked him.
“Thanks.”
Bob returned to reading his book and you started to eat your ramen, now that it had finally cooled down enough. You were half way through the bowl when you noticed Bob’s eyes on you instead of the book.
“Oh no. Am I making a mess?” you asked. You checked to see if any brother or stray noodles had landed anywhere and Bob just chuckled.
“No, sorry, I just…”
Your furrowed your brow at him. “Just...?”
“You look great today, I just noticed, is all.”
Your cheeks flushed. “Oh, thanks, Bob.” You weren’t sure how you looked good to him, your hair was still damp for your shower and you probably looked a mess.
He gave a sheepish grin and then returned to reading him book. You stared down at your ramen and grinned. Bob thought you looked great. After the long day you’d had, it was nice to hear a compliment.
Once you finished eating, you put the bowl in the kitchen. Bob always insisted on washing the dishes. You were pretty sure it was because he couldn’t join in with the hero stuff, he liked to feel like he was useful to the team. Honestly, you were just glad to have him around for company.
You returned and laid across the couch where you had just been sitting. Your head was close to Bob’s legs. Bob chuckled, closed his book, and looked down at you.
“I think there’s something I need to tell you,” he said with a lopsided grin on his face.
“Yeah?” you asked, raising your eyebrows.
“I love being around you,” he said. Your eyes widened and your whole face flushed.
“I love being around you too,” you said. It was more than that, you wanted to be around him as often as he’d let you. You wanted to go out with him to parks and to the movies. “Actually, I was going to ask you on a date but I didn’t know if it was like, unprofessional or if I’d be pressuring you cause you have a lot of mental health stuff going on and… I didn’t mean to ramble but I’m glad I told you.”
“I’m glad you did too,” he said. “Because I’d love to go on a date with you.”
That was far easier than you expected it to be. You’d expected him to dismiss the idea, saying he wasn’t in the right head space or that he should date someone he was technically working with. Or you’d expected an outright rejection, with him saying that he just wasn’t interested in you at all.
You didn’t expect that.
“Shall we then? We could go to the movies one of the days, get some popcorn and stuff.”
“Sounds nice,” Bob said and you beamed at him. “We can go when you don’t have a mission. I don’t exactly do a lot but—”
“You do more than you realise,” you said and shushed him. “We’ll figure out the date. Either that or I’ll just make sure Valentina doesn’t call me unless it’s actually an emergency.”
“Okay then,” Bob said, nodding. You were both smiling at each other, enjoying the peace of the moment.
“Can I do something?” you asked and Bob hesitantly nodded. You lifted your head and shuffled backwards so your head was resting on his leg. “Mind if I do this?”
Bob shook his head. “As long as you don’t mind me doing this.” He ran his fingers through your hair.
“I don’t mind at all,” you said. Bob smiled and returned to his book, with one hand absent-mindedly playing with your hair as he read.
Exhaustion washed over you. You could fall asleep like this. Even though your mind raced at the thought of going on a date with Bob, your muscles relaxed. You were safe and comfortable here, with Bob. You closed your eyes, still smiling.