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Infume made sure the criminal they’d just apprehended was tied to the lamppost well enough that he wouldn’t manage to escape before the police arrived, and signaled to Ghostie to move on. Ever since the Equalizer fiasco, the whole of the underground had been on high alert. The fact Nerdi never resurfaced after getting arrested only added fuel to the fire. Infume tried not to think too much about what might have happened to him, since he imagined it couldn’t be anything good.
All the vigilantes he kept in contact with made an effort to overlap their patrol routes, just in case. He didn’t really mind, since his schedule most often coincided with Ghostie’s and he liked spending time with her, even if he would never say that to her face. She was also one of the rare vigilantes who used her Aura during fights, and he still wasn’t sure how she managed to keep her civilian identity a secret. It allowed her to become incorporeal, which couldn’t have been that hard to find in the Registry.
Whatever the case, she didn’t mind that he sometimes preferred listening to music over talking to her and didn’t laugh at him too hard when he missed a jump and had to scramble out of a dumpster, so he didn’t hate the change in his schedule. Even if recently she became much too invested in whatever was going on between him and Hax.
‘Oh my god, are you texting Blizzard again?’ Infume looked away from the screen, caught.
‘I’m not! I was just checking how much battery I had left’ she looked at him, unimpressed.
‘Bro. Ask him out already, it’s getting a bit too pathetic, even for you’ she took out the map of Ranked City they used to mark their routes to study it. ‘I’ve seen the clips, there’s no way he doesn’t like you back.’
It was true that ever since they started training together, it became more and more common for Blizzard to seek him out during patrol. Infume had to admit that he enjoyed clipfarming as well, so it was no surprise that the internet had been hit with many compilations showing them praising each other’s abilities or chasing each other around on rooftops, often with an unimpressed Ghostie in the background. But in his defense, it was only like 70% his fault. Blizzard was just too endearing for his own good.
After Infume made the mistake of letting Hax know where he worked, the villain started regularly showing up at the café in his ‘civilian disguise’. The first time it happened, he almost gave him a heart attack, since Couriway was sitting one booth over, and currently being glared at by Feinberg. Ever since his boss came back from his weekend getaway, he seemed to be on edge. Infume could hear him pacing inside the staff room, and occasionally had to dodge out of the way when he stormed out, on his way to aggressively sweep the floor or rearrange the pastry display with such force that it was a miracle none of the cakes got squished. When Infume hesitantly asked him what happened, the only answer he got was that his good friend went missing. He tried to find out more, hoping to keep an eye out while patrolling, but Feinberg remained uncharacteristically tight-lipped. Usually he loved discussing the many ways the current hero system wasn’t designed to help those who truly needed it, but Infume supposed it was different when it was someone that close to you who’d been affected. He wouldn’t want to talk about Blizzard if it was him who disappeared without a trace either.
‘Hello, are we forgetting the fact that he’s literally a villain?’ he pocketed his phone, after making sure that it wasn’t anything important. It almost never was, Hax seemed to mostly spend the time he wasn’t engaging in villainy on finding the most brainrot things to send him, but he couldn’t help but worry. ‘Also, I can’t believe you watch those. Are you a fan or something?’
‘Ewww, please never say that again’ she found what she was looking for on the map and put it away. ‘Also let’s be real, Blizzard is too unserious to be considered a proper villain anyway.’
‘I don’t think most people would agree with that. Where did you say we were supposed to wait?’
‘Jojo said it would be good for someone to stake out here, since Boosfer had been spotted in the area’ Ghostie activated her Aura and started floating up towards a nearby rooftop. Infume followed suit, using his enhanced boots to reach a ladder and climb the rest of the way. When he finally reached the top, he saw Ghostie had already found a vantage point and gotten comfortable. He sat down, tamping down on the urge to take out his phone again.
‘But like actually, why are you so scared of finally taking Blizzard out on a date? It’s not like it would damage your reputation, most people think you’re together anyway, since neither of you can stop yaoibaiting.’
Infume sighed and looked away, wishing that Nerdi wouldn’t have gotten kidnapped so he wouldn't be having this conversation.
‘I don’t know, it’s just weird’ he was certain that Hax knew he had a crush on him, and he didn’t think it was that crazy to assume the feeling was mutual. Infume knew he could be oblivious, but even he didn’t miss the way the villain looked at him, and how he went out of his way to spend time with him, even if it involved pretending to be a civilian in front of Couriway and Feinberg. It was nice to feel wanted, and that made it easy to forget the reality of their situation. Infume couldn’t imagine Hax giving up being a villain, even for someone very important to him, and both of their chosen careers were very risky. Nerdi’s disappearance served as proof that, no matter how skilled and well-established you were, one unlucky day could be your last. Infume didn’t think he would be able to live in such uncertainty, even ignoring the moral implications of being in a relationship with a villain. Confessing would be scary and, knowing both him and Hax, incredibly embarrassing, but worst of all it would make what was between them real.
‘It’s like… right now it could all be a bit, right? But as soon as we talk about it, then it’s out there forever, and that’s scary, you know?’ he saw Ghostie hum understandingly.
‘I guess that makes sense. But I don’t know Phantom, I think it’s stupid to keep up this situationship thing you’ve got going on. It’s genuinely painful to watch. And that’s coming from someone who was there for the Barking Incident.’
‘You promised you wouldn’t mention that anymore!’ he tried not to think about the fact that this particular clip got three hundred thousand views online. Even Rekrap, who usually stayed pretty offline, mentioned it to him when they came across each other. ‘Anyway, I guess you’re right. Maybe we should talk at some point.’
Ghostie let out a triumphant cheer, before remembering herself and looking around to make sure no hero was nearby to hear.
‘Aren’t you going to thank me for being so kind and giving you such good advice? I’m genuinely such a nice guy’ Infume hated to admit it, but this was one of the rare occasions when she had a point.
‘I guess that was good advice, especially from someone who’s such a chud.’
‘You’re so mean!’ Ghostie tried to act offended, but she was laughing, so Infume figured it was a good enough compliment. Now he just needed to figure out how to ask the villain out without scaring him away.
An opportunity presented itself a few days later, when Feinberg once again emerged from the staff room to antagonize Couriway. Infume would feel way too awkward in the hero’s place to keep coming back, if the owner of the café he was unsuccessfully spying on was so unwelcoming. At least Couriway noticed Feinberg’s bad mood, and was smart enough not to try and start discussions about the hero system, because there was a good chance Infume would have to help his boss get rid of the body.
After the hero finally left, and the doors to the café were closed for the day, Infume was interrupted while cleaning the coffee machine by Feinberg leaning against the counter and asking him a question.
‘What’s up man? You’ve been distracted recently’ his boss was pretty observant, so it made sense he would notice. Infume just couldn’t stop thinking about Hax, and his conversation with Ghostie. He couldn’t come up with a way to talk to the villain, and maybe ask him out on an actual date, instead of just another sparring session.
‘Is it about Hax?’ Infume whirled around to look at Feinberg with surprise.
‘How do you know about that?’ his boss just laughed in response.
‘Come on man, it’s pretty obvious. This whole thing began basically as soon as he started coming here. It’s obvious he likes you back, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘I know that, I’m not stupid! It’s just… complicated’ Feinberg’s eyebrows rose in disbelief.
‘So what you’re telling me is I’ve been watching both of you attempt to flirt for the last few weeks for no reason? What reason could you possibly have for not just making it official? Wait.’ Feinberg suddenly looked very serious. ‘Is it because you’re Auraless? Because if that’s the case, I’ll just tell him to fuck off the next time he walks through that door.’
‘No, no, he knows about that and it’s chill. It’s not that’ Infume wasn’t sure how he could explain to Feinberg why he was so hesitant to say anything, without mentioning either of their secret identities. ‘It’s like I said, I have my reasons.’
Feinberg sighed in response, looking somewhere past Infume.
‘Listen man, obviously I can’t tell you what to do. Just-’ he stopped, and Infume saw him trying to figure out what to say next. ‘Sometimes you think you’re gonna have all the time in the world to figure shit out, and then bang! And you lose your chance forever’ Infume got the feeling he might have not been talking about him and Hax.
‘No, you’re right, you’re right. I’ve been thinking about asking him out on a real date anyway, I just don’t want to freak him out. And I don’t have any ideas. Actually wait, could I just invite him here after we close up?’ he looked at Feinberg hopefully.
‘Sure man, it’s not like you asked permission before’ his boss looked amused at his questioning expression. ‘We do have cameras and a security system, remember? I’m not stupid’ he laughed and went back to the staff room, leaving him to clean up, flustered and relieved that both him and Blizzard took off their costumes before entering the café the last time.
With a date idea secured, Infume was out of excuses. He decided there was no point in delaying, now that he’d made a decision, so the next time Hax invited him to his base for a sparring session, he waited until it was over to start the conversation.
‘Actually Hax, do you remember what happened after the Equalizer event?’ in the background, he could see Rowl dragging Mongey away into another room. He was glad he wouldn’t have an audience for this, since he could already feel himself getting nervous.
‘Yeah? Why, did I accidentally break something? That would be really embarrassing’ the villain laughed, and Infume felt himself relax. Whatever happened, he was confident Hax wouldn’t let things between them get awkward.
‘No, no, you’re good. I was just wondering, was hanging out at the café fun for you? Except for the Aura loss I mean.’
‘Yeah, I guess so. Why?’ Infume took a deep breath and looked at the wall past Hax’s head.
‘I was thinking, maybe, we could run it back? As a date?’ his voice cracked at the end, but he had no time to feel embarrassed, since the villain immediately knocked over the glass of water he was reaching for. They both watched it fall, before Hax lunged and managed to catch it, turning the water that spilled out into snowflakes before they could reach the floor.
‘Okay, that was so chopped. Please don’t tell Rowl and Mongey when they come back?’ this startled a laugh out of Infume.
‘I won’t, I won’t. Is… is that a yes?’ he asked hesitantly.
‘Yeah, for sure! That would be chill’ Hax sounded very happy, and Infume let out a sigh of relief. It seemed Ghostie and Feinberg were right, and he had nothing to worry about. When Hax walked him to the entrance to his base, he quickly leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before disappearing back inside the warehouse with a giggle. That night during patrol Infume almost walked straight into a lamppost, so distracted by thinking about their approaching date.
When he asked Feinberg the next day if it would be okay for him to invite Hax over, his boss made the executive decision to close the café two hours early, and took pleasure in personally kicking Couriway out. Infume suspected it was a big part of the reason he decided to end the day early in the first place. Hax immediately reacted to the message with the invitation with a heart, which he also took as a good sign. He spent the time until his arrival making sure everything in the café was in order, and scrolling on his phone to distract himself. The less time remained, the more nervous he felt. Finally, he heard his phone buzz with a notification, and when he looked up, he saw Hax standing in front of the café. He was wearing his signature scarf, and looked very cozy in a his light blue hoodie. He was holding a little box wrapped in colorful paper, which he pushed into Infume’s hands the moment he opened the door. He unwrapped it, and inside were two stickers. They were both drawn in a chibi style, and resembled him and Blizzard. He recognized the artist’s signature, and remembered that he’d sent Hax some of their art previously. The villain must have commissioned them, which was very thoughtful.
Infume put the stickers away in his backpack with a ‘thank you’, making a mental note to stick them on the phone case he used as a vigilante as soon as he got back home. It would probably lead to Ghostie making fun of him when the clips made the rounds on social media, but he decided he wouldn’t mind. Especially since he would be able to officially tell her that him and Blizzard were together. When he was sure the present would be safe, he went behind the counter and started preparing tea, this time a blend he’d decided on previously. While it was brewing, he went into the staff room and brought out a plate of chocolate puff pastries he was given by Feinberg. He set them down on the table and saw Hax’s eyes light up. After the tea was done, Infume poured both of them a cup and slid into the booth next to Hax. They reached for the plate at the same time, and their hands brushed against each other, which almost made him drop his pastry. For a while they just sat in silence, before Hax broke it by launching into a funny story involving him, Mongey, and the newest invention they got from Fulham, and any lingering awkwardness disappeared. Infume felt himself relax, watching the villain become more and more animated. It was nice to see him so unguarded, bathed in the moonlight coming through the windows into the café.
Infume was interrupted in the middle of telling Hax about a cool parkour move he was learning by a buzzing sound. He fell silent and had to stop himself from falling into a fighting stance. He knew what was happening, since Feinberg activated the security system once to show him how to disable it if he tripped it on accident, but he didn’t really tell him what to do if the café got broken into for real. He couldn’t imagine his boss would be too thrilled about the police getting called, but it’s not like him and Blizzard could just beat up whoever came in without arousing suspicion. Before he could decide on anything, the door to the staff room opened and someone stumbled into the café. Infume couldn’t see much in the dim lightining, but he still noticed the red splatters on the stranger’s white uniform. He had curly hair, which looked a bit wild and fell over his eyes in uncombed waves. The man took a step towards them, before stumbling into the counter and knocking over the teapot they’d been using. It fell to the ground and shattered, splashing the stranger’s legs with the still hot tea. Infume let out a sympathetic wince at the hiss of pain he let out. He could hear Blizzard charging his Aura next to him.
‘Hey man, are you good?’ he called out, getting ready to dodge if the stranger got any ideas. He didn’t like the way he was looking at them, as if he was trying to figure something out.
‘Blizzard? Phantom? What are you doing here guys?’ Infume had to stop himself from running out of the café, and he saw the ground around Hax become covered in ice. Whoever this was, he somehow knew both of their identities, which could only mean bad things.
Before either of them could say anything, the door leading to Feinberg’s apartment was thrown open and his boss burst in, holding some sort of dart gun. He scanned around the room, and Infume saw him do a double take when his eyes landed on the stranger. The gadget he was holding clattered to the ground, but he didn’t spare it even a glance.
‘Nerdi? Where have you been man?’ he sounded like he couldn’t fully believe what he was seeing. ‘Did anyone see you?’
‘I really can’t be bothered to care about that right now man.’ Nerdi enveloped Feinberg in a hug, and Infume saw the tension his boss had been carrying for however many weeks disappear. He brought his hands up, and for a while they stayed locked in an embrace. Infume felt like he was seeing something he wasn’t supposed to. There was also the fact that Feinberg apparently somehow knew Nerdi’s civilian identity.
‘I actually can’t believe you still have that’ the inventor was looking at the dart gun, abandoned on the floor. He sounded choked up, like he was stopping himself from breaking down.
‘It’s not like I can keep any of my new shit here man, it was literally your inventions that got me raided before’ Infume remembered Feinberg telling him about it, but he never mentioned exactly why the police decided to search the café. At least now he had confirmation it wasn’t him Couriway was unsuccessfully spying on.
‘Wait, I’m actually so confused, how do you guys know each other?’ Hax seemed to have the same question as him.
Feinberg turned to them, and his eyes were instantly drawn to the ice, which still covered the floor around the villain.
‘No fucking way. You’re Blizzard? Infume, did you know about this?’ Infume opened his mouth, unsure if he was about to try to deflect or apologize. He wasn’t really sure what was going on between Feinberg and Nerdi, but clearly the villain trusted his boss with his civilian identity. Was there some sort of unspoken code that made inviting Hax over an insult? Before he could say anything, he was interrupted by Nerdi himself.
‘I gotta be honest, I can’t imagine how he wouldn’t, he’s literally Phantom. You really didn’t know? He’s been working for you for so long’ Infume didn’t really know how to feel about the fact Nerdi had heard about his civilian identity long before meeting him as a vigilante.
Feinberg huffed in annoyance, but the way he looked at Nerdi was full of fondness.
‘No bro. Not everyone has an Aura that lets them look under people’s masks, are we serious?’ Nerdi burst out into hysterical sounding laughter in response, and Feinberg immediately became solemn again.
‘I was hoping you’d be able to help with that actually, since I’m almost 100% sure they used your serum to make whatever it was they gave me’ Feinberg’s eyes widened in realization, at the same time Infume realized how the two knew each other.
‘You’re the Equalizer?’ his boss just nodded before turning his attention back onto Nerdi, who looked like he was about to have a panic attack. He draped his hand over the inventor’s shoulders and led him over to one of the booths, sitting him down.
‘It’s all good bro, we’ll figure it out’ Nerdi looked over his shoulder, and he seemed to remember something when his eyes landed on Hax.
‘Blizzard, have you heard about ‘Project TAS’?’
The temperature in the café suddenly dropped, to the extent that Infume saw his next breath escape in a cloud of white mist. He’d never witnessed Hax lose his composure like this before.
‘How the fuck do you know about that?’ the villain looked angry and scared in equal measure, but before he could say anything else, Feinberg put himself between him and Nerdi, blocking the inventor from view.
‘Alright bro, I think that’s enough for today. Right now we’re all fried, we can figure it out tomorrow. Infume, you have the day off, I’ll call you when we’re ready to talk’ he turned around to Nerdi, clearly done with the conversation.
‘Yeah, that’s chill’ Infume grabbed Hax’s hand, feeling his heart flutter when he squeezed back and let himself be led outside. When he glanced back at the café, through the window he saw Feinberg leaning towards Nerdi, looking scared but determined. He averted his eyes, focusing back on getting Hax to his apartment. The villain looked out of it, and he wasn’t confident that he would be able to get back to his base safely. He also told himself it made sense for them to be at the same place, since tomorrow they would have to meet with Feinberg. He tried not to think too hard about the fact that two more people were now aware of both his civilian and vigilante identity, and that something very serious must have happened to Nerdi, since he knew it would make him spiral. He focused instead on the way Hax’s hand felt in his, and on the way he trusted him to lead him to safety. Everything else could wait.