Fire vs Ice
Soft melodic laughter drifted out from a small table outside a popular Sternbild café. It was a little past midnight and though the streets were still dotted with late night activity, the café was empty. They'd stopped serving a good twenty minutes ago and the staff's pace had slowed to a crawl as they waited impatiently for their lingering guests to depart. They 'discretely' wiped at tables around the duo sat on one of the outer seats and ventured once or twice to ask if there was anything they could assist their valued customers with. The customers however seemed oblivious to the staff's irritation at their nonchalance. Didn't they realise they wanted to go home? It wasn't as though the staff could even say anything outright without repercussion. The customers sat outside their café were none other than Blue Rose and Fire Emblem; so they went about their resigned shuffling and made themselves busy with jobs that could easily be handled in the morning, as they waited for the pair to depart. That didn't look like it would be any time soon.
There had been a Heroes broadcast earlier that evening. Nothing horrendous - a burglary of a local jewellery shop. Blue Rose and Fire Emblem had both nabbed themselves one of the four burglars and a nice bundle of points in the process. They'd decided to enjoy a quiet drink together after the interviews and regular autograph signing – Emblem's invitation.
"Did you see that guys face when you set his pants on fire?" Karina giggled shamelessly. She looked younger when she wasn't serious. Nathan smiled fondly at her.
"Honey, not just anybody can handle my heat, you know." He boasted with a wink. "I wonder how Tiger would handle me~?"
Karina blushed at his playful comment. Things were always a bit sensitive when it came to Wild Tiger. Nathan's smile widened at the expected reaction.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm sure Tiger can handle himself in all manner of situations. Don't you think?" he continued, mischievously.
"Um, I suppose so?" Karina answered with a nervous laugh. She knew better than to play dumb with somebody like Nathan. Dragon Kid was still a bit young to understand why she acted different around Wild Tiger but Nathan could read her like a book.
"Do you think you could handle him though, sweetie? I hear he lives up to his namesake in the bedroom, you know~!"
" Na- E-Emblem!" Karina chastised, blushing deeply and both his comment and her near-slip up as her eyes darted briefly to the waiters nearby. Thankfully they didn't appear interested in her conversation and remained oblivious. Nathan just sat there with a cocky, satisfied smile on his face that told her he'd expected such an outburst.
"You didn't answer my question, sweetie."
"I… how should I know?!" she huffed as she swiped her hot chocolate from the table and pouted around the cinnamon straw before taking a bite out of it. The drink had long since gone cold but she needed something to distract herself from that line of thought. "Come to think of it, how would you even know?"
"I have my sources." Nathan answered cryptically. Karina wished she could see his eyes through his mask to better gauge his reaction. He sipped his own drink and continued playfully, "I can be a bit wild myself you know. Roses do have thorns after all."
"What makes you think you'd have a chance?" Karina asked, half curious and half smug. "He had a wife and has a child you know. That would mean you're not his type."
"Just because you have a favourite flavour it doesn't mean you can't sample the others."
Karina stared blankly at the masked man as her face drifted from confusion, to thoughtful and finally her eyes widened in shock. "Are you saying Ko—um… Wild Tiger is…" she trailed off, unsure how to phrase it.
"Bisexual?" Nathan offered. He chuckled as she blushed and looked away. "Honey, there's a lot of things you still don't know about him."
Karina pouted. She felt childish and foolish. What did Nathan know, anyways? Even if Kotetsu was bi, that didn't mean Nathan was his type. It didn't mean she wasn't his type.
"I can assure you it's true." Nathan offered, humour still present but reigned in at her sulky response. "He gets quite friendly in drink you know. I've spent a night with him."
"You-! W-Wha… how….?" Karina spluttered as she imagined her friend and crush together in bed, twisting beneath the sheets, sweating as they—"Kyaa!" she hid her face in her hands as the blush spread to her ears.
Nathan laughed loudly this time and reached across the table to hold her hand. "Relax, we didn't get that far! A few kisses, maybe a little touching." Nathan offered with a sly smile. "He doesn't hold his liquor well. He passed out. I doubt he remembers."
Karina shook her head wordlessly, unable to comprehend what her friend had told her. He waited patiently for her heart to calm and her head to cool. When she finally peeked out from between her fingers Nathan offered her that warm smile he always did. They changed the subject and finished their drinks. He called a car to take her home and she parted from him in half a daze.
On the ride home with the cool silence her thoughts finally started to settle down and Karina released a slow breath as she went over the conversation in her head. Nathan was a smart man, he didn't say things for no reason and the more she thought about it, the more it felt like the conversation had been the issue of a challenge. Her crush hadn't faded as Nathan expected it would and her affections for Kotetsu had only grown with time. Maybe he held feelings for Tiger too? He'd said they hadn't done anything like that, but by getting that far even it was proof Kotetsu might be interested in Nathan. Karina's eyes widened in shock as she realised Nathan was laying his cards on the table. He wasn't about to stop her from trying her luck with Kotetsu, but he wasn't about to give up either.
As the comprehension settled, Karina smiled slowly to herself. She'd never turned down a challenge issued to her before and she did like Kotetsu. Nathan was warning her that by pursuing Kotetsu she might be playing with fire. Oddly, instead of hurt or intimidation, she felt a rush of excitement at the idea. After all, who better to fight fire than the ice queen, Blue Rose?