Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Four
...
Ammie was a romantic at heart. She had a thing for tall men who displayed emotions, and apparently, Sport was exactly her type. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop on him and Indigo, but her bakery abutted the foyer and she had heard their whole conversation thanks to the ducted air conditioning. It was any wonder she was still standing upright after Sport's speech about Indigo getting what she needed.
Ammie didn't dare think about what she needed. Or wanted. She had Core to think about first and her own wants and needs came second. Or third or fifth. Her bakery probably took several spots above herself, but Ammie was fine with that. She was going to prove that she could run a business and do something she loved, and that's all that mattered.
A bell tinkling had her looking to the doorway and smiling broadly at Sport, and trying to focus on what she could do for him as a businesswoman and not just as a woman.
"Good morning, Sport. What can I get for you?" Ammie asked with a smile.
There. She could be professional, see? Even if she wanted to climb him like a tree.
Sport smiled back at her and that just wasn't fair to her already-weak knees. "Could I get a coffee, please, Ammie?"
"Oh. Of course. I have the coffee machine for that reason. I'll just... set the whole thing up," she said, flustered and kicking herself for not setting up the machine earlier. She'd meant to, but then she'd thought of a new orange and chocolate cupcake and she'd spent the morning perfecting it instead of organising the coffee machine.
Sport watched in equal parts amusement and horror as Ammie tried to lift a giant bag of coffee beans to pour into the machine. "Can I help?" he almost pleaded, not wanting to see Ammie fall and hurt herself because of his request.
"No, no; I'm all right," Ammie said over her shoulder, giving a small grunt as she lifted the whole bag up and tipped the beans into the compartment carefully. "There we go! Now, what kind of coffee do you like?" she asked, setting the bag back down and turning to face Sport. "Are you all right?"
"I thought you'd just use the bean scoop, not lift the whole damn bag."
"The scoops make a mess and I spend more time cleaning than I do cooking. Or making coffees," she added with a wry grin.
Sport couldn't really argue with that logic. "I'll just have a cappuccino with almond milk, please. Oh, and two shots of coffee."
"Sure. Not sleeping well?" Ammie asked as she set a mug beneath the coffee dispenser and pressed the required buttons.
"Just finished a night shift and I have errands to get done. If I don't have a coffee, I'll be asleep by lunch time."
"Oh, right. What sort of errands? Anything fun?"
"Just grocery shopping. I've got one of the apartments in here so I need to set it up the way I like it. It's sparse, and coming from a military background, that's saying something."
Ammie was surprised. "I'm surprised. I thought Honey set all of the apartments up with everything? Well, except mixing bowls," she added, thinking of the boxes she'd brought.
"That's one of the few things I do own, surprisingly. Honey said I wasn't meant to move in until next week so me moving in last week was changing her plans. I'm lucky the apartment has a bed, apparently," he added with a laugh.
Ammie turned to the coffee machine and started to froth the milk, hoping he wouldn't see her pink cheeks. The bed she had was huge, especially on her own, and she couldn't help but imagine Sport being in the California King with her. Which was a bad thought to have about a customer.
Turning with the coffee mug in hand, she set it on the counter carefully and smiled at Sport brightly. "There you go, my very first coffee."
"Thank you, Ammie. How much do I owe you?"
"Oh. I forgot to add coffee prices to the list."
Looking up to the chalkboard above the coffee machine, Sport could see she had stopped writing halfway through 'cupcakes' and grinned. "Looks like most things aren't on the list. Did I interrupt you?"
"No. Well, you didn't interrupt me with that. I thought of a new cupcake and... they're in the oven," Ammie realised with dawning horror, running for the kitchen.
Sport couldn't really do much from behind the locked counter so he grabbed his coffee and sipped at it while waiting for Ammie to return. He heard a lot of muttered curses as the oven door opened and from where he was standing, he could see a tray being placed on the counter. And then another tray and another. "Are you all right?"
"Fine, they didn't burn. I just need to put these on top and I'll be right back," Ammie called, and Sport could see her fingers working delicate and nimble with something orange, placing them onto each cupcake.
Drinking more of his coffee, Sport waited patiently for Ammie to return, looking at each of the cupcakes on display behind the glass. Captain Fancypants was there, along with a selection of animals, and the "grown up" assortment included chocolate overload, jam Berliner cupcake, caramel with extra caramel, banana, carrot cake, and birthday cake. She also had a small selection of savoury muffins at the end with cheese and various vegetables.
Sport's stomach reminded him he would be returning to day shift shortly and needed breakfast rather than dinner.
"All done. Thanks for waiting. Since it's my first coffee, how about it's on the house? Is it any good?" Ammie asked with a wince as she saw Sport drinking.
"It's great. You seem surprised by that?"
"I am. I'm awful at making coffee, so much so that we only drink tea. That machine must be a miracle worker," she said.
"I'm sure you helped it along. How much are these savoury muffins? I refuse to accept anything else for free," he added with a smile.
Ammie had another thought that she shouldn't have about a customer and turned her attention to the muffins. "They're three-fifty each. Can you try one of the chocolate orange cupcakes?" she blurted out, anxious for someone to test them and Corvin had already left for school.
"Um... sure. After a muffin, if you don't mind waiting?" Sport asked, wanting something savoury before sweet.
"Yes, of course. Which muffin do you want? I'll bring it all out to you," she said, nodding to the tables and chairs.
"Sun dried tomato and spinach, please."
"That's Corvin's favourite," Ammie said with a smile.
"I'll have to try all of them before I decide on a favourite," Sport said with a wink, taking his coffee to sit at one of the tables.
Ammie's heart raced as she set up a muffin on a plate and rushed to get one of the chocolate orange cupcakes. It would still be warm, but that was never a bad thing.
Sport thanked Ammie in earnest, waiting until she had returned to the counter to start eating his muffin. It was gone in four bites and he looked over to the counter longingly, wondering if Ammie would judge him if he ate another four muffins. Just to try each of them, of course.
Grateful for the cupcake, even though it was tiny in comparison to the muffin, Sport inspected it briefly. The orange thing that Ammie had handled looked to be an orange slice, but it was hard rather than the soft fruit he expected. Biting into the chocolate cupcake, he set the remaining half down and chewed slowly, hoping to impress Ammie with a thorough review. The orange slice was candied, he realised, and the chocolate cupcake had orange zest mixed in, but it wasn't overpowering. Chocolate chunks had been used, rather than chips, and chocolate melted against his tongue. Sport barely kept from moaning at the delicious taste and flavours, and wondered if Ammie would think it weird if he bought a whole tray.
"Do you like it?" Ammie asked, looking antsy at the counter and watching him eagerly.
Sport deliberated between answering her and eating the last of the cupcake. "Absolutely love it."
Well... that wasn't the thorough review he'd hoped for. Ammie, however, didn't seem to mind.
"Oh, that's great. Is it too much orange? The candied orange slices were a last minute idea, but with the zest in the cupcake, I thought it could be too much."
"Ammie. It's amazing and I'm tempted to eat a whole tray," Sport said with a grin, eating the last bite and savouring it for a moment before standing.
Ammie swallowed hard as she thought of something else he could eat and tried not to blush. Jesus Christ, she had to calm down.
"In fact, could I get some more muffins and cupcakes to go?"
Licking her lips and nodding, Ammie grabbed a box and hoped her hands weren't trembling. "Which muffins do you want?"
Sport grinned. "One of each. And a couple more of those orange and chocolate cupcakes, if you don't mind?"
Ammie blinked. "Are you sure? That's a lot of money," she said, adding up the total in her head as she looked from the muffins to Sport.
"They're worth it. Oh, and I'll have to take a Captain Fancypants with me, too," he said with a grin.
Ammie nodded and grabbed another box. "All right. Are you really sure?"
"Positive, Ammie. They're delicious and I want to support you... and your business," Sport added quickly.
"Thank you, Sport," Ammie said with a smile. "I'll have them all boxed up for you in a jiffy."
Sport grinned. "Thank you, Ammie. Say, since I'm going to the store, do you need anything? I can bring back flour or ingredients or something for you."
Ammie used a pair of tongs to start boxing up each of the muffins, and shook her head. "I have a supplier for all of those ingredients."
"What about actual groceries, then? Or anything else? You've got to be busy with your bakery, so I'm happy to run errands for you, if you need."
Ammie really didn't have anything she needed, but she did want to spend more time with Sport. It would be wrong to use him in that way, though. She wanted him as more than an errand boy or whatever this offer was. "How about a date?"
"Sure. Pitted or Medjool or... wait, a date?" Sport asked, even as Ammie felt mortified, clutching the tongs and destroying an apple and cinnamon muffin in the process.
Her heart pounding and her face red, she could only nod.
Sport grinned. "Hell, yes."
"Really?" Ammie asked, still feeling embarrassed and not sure she'd heard him correctly over the pounding in her ears.
"Positive. I would love to go on a date with you. Several, in fact. When and where, and do I need to dress up? I've got a suit... somewhere."
Ammie shorted out at the thought of Sport in a tight suit with a vest and those muscles and shirt sleeves rolled to expose his forearms and large hands. Hot damn.
"Um... I don't know. I didn't think you'd say yes," she admitted, setting the tongs down before she destroyed another poor innocent muffin.
"Why wouldn't I? You're gorgeous and funny and I'm always a fan of a woman who can cook," Sport said with a wink.
Ammie laughed, tension releasing and her shoulders relaxing. "Okay. You go do your errands and I'll think of our date, okay? I'll just finish boxing these up first," she added, realising he still didn't have the muffins or cupcakes he wanted.
"All right. You're apartment 708, right? I... I saw you coming out of the room this morning to go to the bakery. I wasn't spying or anything," Sport added, a blush high on his cheeks.
Goddamn, how did he just keep getting more adorable?!
"Yes, that's right. I'll see you there at 5pm. Is that too early? I have to be up early in the mornings, so I tend to eat early and go to bed at 8pm."
Sport grinned outright. "I'll eat whenever, if it's with you. Don't worry, I'll have you in bed by eight."
Ammie blushed and focused on the muffins - there went another apple and cinnamon one, damn it - and hurried back to the kitchen to get a few of the chocolate orange cupcakes before she jumped the counter and climbed him right there and then. She needed to think and it was difficult to think with Sport right there looking handsome and looking like he'd spend hours eating her up with that same blissful expression he'd had over her simple cupcake. She hadn't even talked to Core about this yet, though she knew he didn't mind her dating like he had when he was younger.
Boxing up the cupcakes and setting Captain Fancypants beside them carefully - there would be no destruction of her favourite penguin if she had any say in it - and closed the boxes carefully. Stacking them up, she added the total on the cash register, biting her lip at the final amount.
"It's all right, Ammie. I'm a big boy," Sport said with a grin. "Now, how much is it?"
Ammie pressed two more buttons firmly, her cheeks still pink. "Thirty-five dollars."
"Eight muffins at three-fifty each, Captain Fancypants is four dollars and you're undercharging for that from what I've seen online, and the cupcakes are two-fifty. You gave me three and I ate another one, and I'm not even including the coffee in that. You're undercharging me, Ammie. By a lot, since I haven't even added tax in."
Ammie wrung her hands. "It's just a lot and you're my first real customer and I want you to come back."
Sport grinned. "I promise, no matter how much it is, I'll come back. And I'll buy something each time, if it means I get to see you again. I plan on seeing you a lot."
"You don't have to! That's... well... it could be expensive."
"Both you and your food are worth it. Now, the proper total?" Sport asked.
Ammie sighed and added the extra she'd removed, as well as the sales tax. "Fifty-three dollars."
"And sixty-nine cents," Sport added.
Ammie blushed. "You already knew the total?"
"I'm good with numbers. Among other things," he said with a wink, handing over two bills. "Keep the change. See you tonight, Ammie."
As soon as the door had closed behind him, Ammie ran back to her kitchen and fanned herself with a baking tray.
Now she just had to think of a way to tell her son.
...
"Mum? Can you sign my permission slip?" Will asked Josie as he came into the kitchen, his mother at the sink, filling a pot with water.
"Hmm. What for, dear?" Josie asked, looking over.
"There's some field trip. Uh, to the museum," Will added, skim-reading the piece of paper.
Josie turned off the tap and set the pot aside, drying her hands. "Which museum, when and how much?"
Will held out the paper. "Maxville Super Museum. They've got a new exhibit and Principal Powers wants us to see it before the citizens do. I think she worked out something with the museum... uh, person."
Josie looked over the paper curiously - the trip was scheduled for next week and they were asking for parents and guardians to chaperone the full day trip - and then she saw the price. Holy spandex, ten dollars was a lot of money for a simple school excursion!
Will knew the second his mother had seen the price because her eyes widened and she looked around for her phone. "I'm going to go patrol Westville. Bye!" he said, flying out the back door before she could stop him.
Josie was busy dialling the school and didn't get a chance to reply. As soon as she was back on the PTA committee, she would be handling things very damn differently!
...
Corvin walked into the apartment, kicking his shoes off, and looked into the kitchen when he smelled food cooking. "Hi, Ma. You look nice."
"Do I?" Ammie smiled nervously and brushed down her dress, accidentally smearing crumbs on it. Cursing under her breath, she cleaned her hands and used a spare tea towel to clean her dress.
Corvin frowned at the action. His mother never cared about getting food on her clothes. "What's going on?"
"I have a date. Tonight. I didn't really mean to ask him, but he looked cute and I was nervous and... well, it just sort of slipped out. It was funny because he thought I was talking about dates and asked if I wanted Medjool or pitted and... what?"
"Too much at once; breathe, Ma."
Ammie inhaled and exhaled, shaking out her hands. "I'm okay. I haven't been on a date in... well, a long time."
"Three years, eight months, and... twenty-five days, give or take. Who is he? Do I know him?" Core asked curiously.
Ammie concentrated on taking the apple crumble out of the oven, setting it on the bench before turning off the oven. "The fact you know it down to the day is creepy, Core."
"The last guy left an impression. You should really ask if they're scared of birds before you start dating them."
Shit. She hadn't asked Sport that, either.
"So, who is he?" Corvin asked again, moving around his mother to get a spoon from the cutlery drawer.
"Sport. The security guard. Well, I think he's the head security guard. I don't know what the job progression involves, but I think he's on top."
Core snickered. "Phrasing, Ma."
Ammie blushed. "Oh, hush."
Corvin dug his spoon into the crumble and took a bite, chewing despite the heat. "Ow, ow, ow."
"You always eat it when it's too hot. You never learn, do you?" Ammie muttered.
"Always learning, Ma. Your food is too good to leave waiting. You used a different crumble, though," Corvin said with a slight frown, even as he took another generous mouthful.
"Uh... I murdered some muffins," Ammie admitted. "I wasn't expecting Sport to say yes when I asked him out, so I destroyed a muffin, and I refused to let it go to waste."
"Uh huh. There's more than one muffin on here. What did the second and possibly third muffin do to you to go through a murder?"
Remembering exactly why the second muffin had met its untimely demise, Ammie bit her tongue and tried not to imagine Sport in a suit again.
"You 'kay, Ma? You've gone all red."
"I'm fine. I made an actual dinner for you, too. Lasagna's in the fridge. You can make a salad to go with it, if you want. Or there's chips in the freezer."
Corvin thought about it for a long moment. "Store-bought or homemade?"
"Homemade. We had a lot of potatoes, and I needed to use the chip maker machine."
"The thing you swore to use at least once a month and it's been in a box for two years?"
"Do you want the chips or not?"
"I'm not complaining, just surprised," Corvin said, holding his hands and spoon up in a gesture of peace. "What time will your date be here?"
"Five o'clock. It's not much warning, I know, but I forgot you'd started that after-school... thing. What is it again?"
"It's just training, making sure I can actually do things while shifted. Milo came along today, too, so I got to attack bubbles," Corvin said with a grin. "It was inside," he added, Ammie's relief obvious on her face.
"That sounds like fun. I'm glad you're making friends, Core," Ammie said, kissing his cheek.
Core grinned. "They can handle me being a sarcastic bastard, like you said, so it's good so far."
Ammie laughed. "You've got to stop reminding me of that. I sound like an awful mother."
"Nah, no one's accusing you of that. Where are you going on your date, anyway?" Corvin asked, taking another bite of the crumble before putting his spoon in the sink to reuse with his lasagna later.
"Tenpin bowling."
Core snickered. "And does he know you're a state champion?"
Ammie grinned. "Not yet. I like seeing how men react to me kicking their asses at bowling. It's why Richard - "
"Y'mean Dick."
" - didn't get a second date. Well, he didn't get through the first date, really."
"I still can't believe you went on a date with a guy called Dick."
Ammie rolled her eyes. "You've reminded me of that regularly since the date happened. It was four years ago."
"Uh huh, and I have at least another year of teasing. His name was Dick, Ma. You calling him Richard didn't help because he kept correcting you by saying 'Dick' every time."
"Which is why you called him Richard ten times in ten minutes. Believe me, I remember that conversation all too well," Ammie said, shaking her head.
The clock struck four-thirty and Corvin looked at his mother - still nervous despite their teasing - and made a split decision. "I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Ammie asked in surprise as he headed for the door.
"Going to stretch before you go. You don't want me flying when you're not here, do you? I'll be back before you go."
"Oh. Okay, enjoy your flight. I'll just... wait here," she finished, her son already out the front door.
Sighing, Ammie tried to keep her nerves under control by cleaning the kitchen for the third time. Maybe she had enough time to bake cookies.
...
"How was your after school session, sweetheart?" Angelina asked, smiling at Milo as he came into the apartment.
"I don't think I could blow a spit bubble right now, ugh," Milo groaned, flopping over the end of the couch, his head buried in the couch cushions.
"That good, huh? You should keep some in reserve. Your power's not limitless," she said, frowning when Milo just groaned in response. "Don't hurt yourself, you don't know what could happen if you're without your power for a long period of time."
Milo would usually argue here, stating his power was bubbles so it wasn't anything powerful or useful. He never voiced these fears in front of his father, as Enzo was so proud of his bubble power even though he used it for cooking rather than fighting crime, but Angelina knew that Milo sometimes wished he had a different power. Something stronger or flashier, something that would result in his own action figure or picture on a cereal box. She couldn't blame him for it - there was the proof right there in the cereal and toy aisles, after all - but she always made sure to argue back that his power was important, even if he didn't realise how or why yet. He needed to find out why for himself, just like Enzo had. Milo would then respond that she was his mother and had to say that, which Angelina promised to never lie to him, even if it was for his own good.
Inhaling, she mentally prepared herself for the same argument as usual, but Milo stayed silent.
"Milo?"
He slowly lifted himself off the lounge, then hopped over the end to land on the pillow, crossing his legs and rearranging his skirt. "I... You were right."
Angelina frowned; that was a rare admission from her son outside of the restaurant. "What was I right about?"
"My power. I needed to find how it was useful to me and what I can do with it."
There was some sort of emotion in his voice and displaying on his face that Angelina couldn't recognise. She tried to tell herself that Milo was his own person and changing in ways she couldn't recognise or understand every day. She couldn't always hope to know every single thing he was feeling. Angelina wondered if she'd get an answer even if she asked, but asked anyway, "You found that out, then?"
Milo nodded, thinking back to the training session where he'd made bubbles out of materials, not just soap and water. Foam buildings had curved around to perfect spheres; the dummies had twisted and turned until the bodies were a mangled mess of rubber limbs and broken voice boxes but a bubble, nonetheless; and he'd even managed to create a bubble out of fire that Craig!Warren had produced. Granted, it hadn't lasted long since he was starting to get tired by that stage, but it was something he'd never done before, and Milo held a seed of pride about doing something new and fascinating with his power.
And, admittedly, somewhat terrifying, in the case of the dummies. Zach had left the gym when he'd started, but the sound of his retching in the background hadn't been enough to break Milo's concentration. Terrence had joined him a moment later, but Craig and Adam continued to watch with morbid fascination. Ethan had watched, curious and analysing, as though waiting for it to fail, as though he was testing Milo's power and usefulness. Corvin shifted back from his raven form, watching from the rafters, the soap bubbles he'd been attacking long gone. Finally, after fifteen full minutes, Milo had ended up with a perfect bubble from a previously-humanoid dummy, and he'd collapsed on the floor with an incredulous laugh, even as some part of him filled with absolute joy that he'd really and truly found his power, just like his mother said he would.
Angelina's phone alarm went off, loud in the silence between them, and she sighed as she stood, kissing the crown of his head. "I'm glad you found out why your power's useful to you, sweetheart."
"Thanks, Ma. So am I," Milo said with a grin. "Need help in the restaurant?"
"Not tonight. You rest and recover, okay? Can I let your father know or do you want to tell him?"
"You can tell him, 's'okay," he said.
"Thanks, sweetheart. Now, dinner's in the oven, dessert's in the fridge, and make sure to finish your homework and be in bed by 10pm."
"Sure thing, Ma. Thanks for bringing food for me," Milo said, standing to give Angelina a quick hug before she left.
"Of course. Your father's tried a new sauce, so he'll want a review in the morning."
Milo grinned. "Of course. Have a good night, Ma."
"You too, sweetheart. Love you."
"Love you, too."
...
"You lost Save the Citizen? Dude, how'd that happen?" Warren asked, sitting up carefully with Layla curled up beside him.
Adam shrugged. "Shit happened, we lost. You haven't seen Eth's video yet?"
"Not yet, but I saw the group chat. Apparently Pat won a substantial amount in a betting pool that I had no idea about. Sounds like he's going to put Edith out of business, or at least collect a significant number of bets once she lets us actually join in," Warren said, glancing at his phone with a wry smile.
Adam snorted. "Doesn't surprise me at all. We lost 'cause we underestimated our opponents. It won't happen again; I'm pretty sure Craig's shifted into them so many times in the last day that he forgot what his own face looked like."
"Nah, dude. My face is too awesome to forget. And tell the truth: we lost 'cause I froze like a bitch."
"Hey, no derogatory or self-deprecating language allowed," Warren said firmly, raising an eyebrow at Craig.
Craig sighed and flopped into the chair beside Warren's bed, swinging his legs over the armrest. "It's true, though. I froze, Celina and Celia kicked our asses, and we lost to two twins who aren't even tall enough to smack my shoulder."
"That's not true. They both reached your shoulders without an issue. It's in the video, if you want to confirm," Ethan said, walking in with Zach beside him.
Craig groaned and covered his eyes with his arm. "I'm not going to live this down, am I?"
"Of course you will. No one except you cares; it's just Save the Citizen," Zach said, shrugging. "We've all lost at one time or another."
"Not the point, Zed."
Zach just shrugged again, then brought out a container from his bag. "I made carrot cake cupcakes for you, if you need to eat your feelings."
Craig lifted his arm to peek out at Zach. "Extra cream cheese icing?"
"Of course."
"Awesome! I love you, dude," Craig said, sitting up and reaching out for Zach's container with grabby hand motions.
"So, before I actually watch the video: why did you lose?" Warren asked curiously.
Craig carefully peeled off the cupcake wrapper, the task taking up his focus and attention. "Like I said, they kicked our asses - "
"Not how, Craig; why? Why did you freeze?" Warren asked, his voice gentle when he saw Craig flinch.
Craig shoved the cupcake into his mouth, almost choking at the thick, dense icing, his cheeks bulging as he forced himself to chew through it, breathing through his nose at the same time.
"Dude, don't die over a cupcake," Zach said, stepping forward in concern.
"I won't," Craig wheezed once he'd finally swallowed his mouthful.
"I'm going to update your possible eulogies to include a food related death," Ethan muttered, typing on his phone.
Warren blinked. "Okay, a little creepy that you have multiple eulogies for Craig, Eth."
Ethan shrugged. "I have them for everyone."
Warren opened and closed his mouth, then shook his head, and turned his attention back to Craig. "Do you want to tell me without the others in the room? We can talk about it privately," he offered.
Adam was curious about the answer himself. Even with everyone's heart-to-heart and sleeping pile in the Hive, Craig hadn't talked about why he'd frozen in Save the Citizen. He had his own ideas, but he wanted to find out why from his best friend rather than make assumptions.
Craig swallowed and licked his lips nervously. He played with the wrapper in his hands, folding it over and over until it was a tiny square before unfolding it and refolding it over again. "They reminded me of the Wardens."
Understanding seemed to hit Ethan, Zach, and Adam all at once. Adam's ideas were confirmed, and he moved over to put a hand on Craig's shoulder, squeezing gently. Warren, who had no idea what Celia and Celine's powers were, just frowned in response.
"Celia and Celine are relatives of Cell; twice removed, if I remember correctly. They can harden their bodies into stone, whereas he could only harden his skin into a shell-like substance. Much easier to break, if his death is any indication."
"They didn't even look like the Wardens!" Craig snapped, then groaned at himself, burying his face in his hands. "It's so stupid," he mumbled.
"Hey, what did I say about that kind of language?" Warren said pointedly.
"It's still a stupid response. They're goddamn freshmen. The Wardens were like double their height."
"Dude, you should know that size has nothing to do with power. Robin's shorter than you, and they'd kick ass any day of the week. Same for Justina, and Heidi, and Eth, and even Layla," Adam said with a grin.
"Not that I object to kicking someone's ass, but who and why?" Layla asked with a wide yawn, stretching beside Warren and then snuggling up against his chest.
"Mine. I froze and we lost Save the Citizen."
"Oh. I wouldn't kick your ass for losing," Layla said, blinking and frowning.
Warren snorted. "You woke up halfway through a conversation and sentence, hippie. I'll explain later, unless you want to talk about it more?"
Craig's phone went off with an alarm and he sighed heavily and dramatically. "Looks like I'll be talking about it, whether I want to or not. My appointment with Doc is up in five. Who wants to walk me to her office?"
"I'll go with you. I'd like to organise an appointment that fits in my schedule," Ethan said.
"Same for me. Uh, d'you think we should get an appointment for Heids, too?" Zach asked, scratching the back of his head.
"We can suggest it to Heidi, but it's not up to us to make an appointment for her. Unless she asks, of course," Ethan amended.
"Good point. She'd definitely kick my ass, then."
Adam snorted. "Pretty sure we'd all let her. I've already booked my appointment online, so you three go have fun. I'll meet you guys in the yellow room, yeah?"
"Okay. I'll need, like, a billion pillows and at least five blankets by the time I'm done. Therapy is exhausting, dude," Craig said, even as he swung his legs back over the chair to stand up and head out of the room.
"Meditation and breathing exercises help. Ry should have finished his taekwondo session by the time you're done. I'll see if he's agreeable to running a meditation session with us all," Ethan said.
"Thanks, Eth."
"I've got my appointment with Doc later. I'll start walking now and make it on time," Warren said with a wry grin.
Layla snorted, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Let's walk down with them; see if you can keep up," she said, standing and holding out a hand.
"Here to there in five minutes? Super Jesus, hippie. I probably couldn't do that even before this," he muttered, indicating to himself. Warren sighed and ran a hand through his hair when Layla's expression only became more stubborn and determined in response. "All right. I'll go. You guys head off first; I'll catch up," he said.
"Don't be late for Doc," Layla prompted Craig, nodding for them to go.
"I can stop time, y'know."
Warren sighed, rubbing his face. "Fine. Give me an hour, that'll be enough."
"Done. If you want to do it twice, I can extend the time limit."
"Thanks, Cee." Warren stood carefully and took Layla's hand. "Sure you can keep up with me?"
"Let's find out," Layla said with a smile, squeezing his hand.
...
End of the hundred and sixty-fourth chapter.
Thanks for reading; I hope you liked it!