"Izu-Izu, do you want to talk to your friends alone?" asked Toga as they left the conference room. Her hand was holding his, and it tightened its grip as she asked. "Maybe it would be for the best. I am not ashamed to be with you, Himiko, but maybe it would be safer for now." He didn't want to hide what he felt, it had taken him long enough to acknowledge his feelings. But Toga was still a criminal in the eyes of the law, and he had to think of her safety. If he had to deny his feelings, his involvement with her, to keep her safe, he would do it.
"I´ll go to my room then. See you tomorrow?" "Wouldn't have it any other way, Himiko. I just wish they had just put us in the same room" "Oh, your mother would never have allowed it…she just talked my ear off about not having kids yet." Izuku felt his face go red at the implication. Sure, they had slept in the same bed, they had kissed and all, but… "I know what you´re thinking, Izu-Izu, you lewd pervert! Maybe when we are not in the middle of a hospital with thin walls? I could hear Tsuyu and Tokoyami making out from several rooms away and had to put on the TV before I heard anything else…"
Izuku just laughed it off "Then I´ll see you tomorrow?" "Of course." They kissed, and Toga left for her room. When you´re free, Himiko.
With a deep breath to steel himself, Izuku walked to the waiting room his friends would be in. He walked in to meet the inquisitive gazes of his friends. Their faces showed him a lot of how they felt about this whole thing; Mei looked confused and betrayed, Shouto and Momo looked supportive, Ochako looked like a mess, physically and mentally, and Tenya looked more worried about her than about what he had to say. Tsuyu didn't seem too affected, just happy to see her friend in one piece and curious about the whole story.
"Hey guys. I guess you have some questions?" he asked, a bit intimidated, feeling a bit guilty about everything. "Just tell us everything, Izuku, start from the beginning"
And that was what he did. Izuku spoke for a long time, probably half an hour or more. He told his friends everything; how he had met Toga in Okinawa, how they had become closer with their calls, the Americans capturing her and the deal they had made, every operation, how they had lived together. That they were together. He told them everything Pestilentia had said about her past, corroborated with pictures and records on a tablet Tsukauchi had lent him.
His friends let him speak before asking questions, but he could see they were coming. Tsuyu had a finger on her lips, thinking; Tenya´s hand moved like he wanted to participate in a class; Mei had even taken notes on a few napkins. "And that is pretty much everything that happened" he finished.
Tsuyu spoke first "I have three things. One, I´m not sure how I feel thinking that the demon who tried to kill us several times is now your girlfriend. I mean, weird stuff happens in this world, my boyfriend has a bird head after all. Are you sure you can trust her? Maybe she is playing the long game?" Izuku stopped to think but discarded the thought "She´s had more than enough chances to kill me and she´s fought all the brainwashing every time. I trust her." "Okay, Deku-chan, if you trust her, I don't have too much of a problem. But please don't be offended if we keep an eye out, okay?"
Izuku nodded, letting his friend continue "Now the second thing, her story made me really sad. And I think it is admirable that you want to help everyone like this, Deku-chan. Third, you can´t tell the public this. We are your friends and we can try to understand you and give you our support, but the people will feel betrayed if they see you helping a villain, no matter how much of a better person she is now. Well, I guess I´ll just wish you for the best, eh? And if she gets stabby with anyone you stop her." "I will, Tsuyu."
Iida then raised his hand "Izuku, you said the villain brainwashed her through her dreams. How did that work? Can it be done again?" It was a valid doubt that Izuku had not thought about. "His Quirk allows Pestilentia to control the subconscious when awake, that is what causes the voice telling her to kill and steal a person´s identity. When the victim is asleep, Pestilentia can hijack their entire consciousness and has full control of the dreams. He used his Quirk on me and that is how we talked, he was never there. I´m not sure if the cells he uses were injected or what, but he just took over when I was put to sleep."
Iida´s face darkened with worry "Izuku…could the Quirk be spread by a liquid? In the base…I got sprayed by a jet of water. I didn't think too much of it…could it have affected me?" "Did you die in the dream?" "Yes" "You have him in your head now, too." Ochako, who hadn't raised her eyes from the floor as he had explained, looked up and exclaimed in anguish "Why? What does the villain want with Tenya? Will this Pestilentia brainwash him? Is he gonna turn Tenya into a sleeper agent too?"
"No, I don't think so…I think the villain needs actual brainwashing equipment to break people´s minds like he did with Himiko. He probably will just try to break your spirit, make every time you sleep a traumatic experience, to keep you awake. Himiko found some ways to sleep sometimes but I don't know if they will work out for you, Tenya. Or if they will work for me. The Agency is reaching out to Shinsou to see if he can help with this, he is the expert on mind Quirks. I don't know if we can remove the cells from our brain, I really hope we can; Pestilentia has a cruel mind and he won´t hesitate to exploit our trauma."
Ochako looked away again, relief added to the myriad of emotions in her face. Iida sat down, thinking. Izuku was sorry that his friend had been exposed to a Quirk like that in order to save him. Mei then took her turn "Maybe I would like to ask after, just you and me. Is that okay?" "Of course, Mei." "Alright…I just need to wrap my head round some of these things you said. Look for me later in my room?" "Yeah." "I´ll just go, then." Izuku knew that face, when Mei had a million things on her head and needed to be alone to sort all out. She left.
Shouto then spoke, looking him in the eye, smiling gently "Izuku…you have been the best of friends to me, have been by my side through every decision I have made this last three years. You have had faith in me when I didn't, you pushed me to be the best person I could. I consider you a brother, maybe not in blood but in trust. If you think Toga has good in her, I trust you can find it. And with Touya…I would be a huge hypocrite if I said villains have no redemption."
Momo smiled at Shouto and added "Izuku, we all admire you as a person and as a hero. We are your friends and we just want what is good for you…please don't get hurt. Even if you and Toga take down the villain, the Americans could still decide they are not done with you two, or not to honour the deal. Be careful, please. I know you will make the right decision in the end." And that left only Ochako.
"I…if I start talking, I don't think I can stop right now, Deku. Could we take it somewhere else? I´ve already worried everyone too much." Izuku agreed, and they left their friends in the room. As he followed Uraraka outside, he paused to consider just how awkward it felt to be alone with her. They hadn't been alone together in what, two years now? By instinct he walked further away from her than he did with Mei. It made him think of how happy he had seen her in their graduation, dancing with Iida. How did Toga change all that?
Uraraka took him to an empty conference room, used by doctors to speak with their patients and their families. Izuku didn't even know whether to sit or stand as Ochako closed the door behind them. Uraraka fidgeted with her hands, before starting "Deku…did I do this? Are you with Toga…because of me?" "What do you mean, Uraraka?" "I pushed you away. I didn't know how to handle my feelings, Deku." "Feelings? What are you talking about? You changed one day and whenever I asked you if you were okay, if I was doing something you didn't like…you just always said it was fine. But it wasn't fine, Uraraka! You were my best friend one day, the next you couldn't even look me in the eye! I didn't know what to do, Uraraka…when I asked All Might, he had no idea; when I asked mom, she had a breakdown, it was just like my father had been."
"Deku…I was in love with you. It wasn't just a simple crush and it scared me. It scared me so much! I got anxious whenever you were nearby, and I got so jealous when you talked to other girls. I…I was afraid. Afraid that if I told you, you would laugh at me. You would reject me, and our friendship would be gone. You would tell me it had all been a prank, that you would never want to be with me. I was so afraid to lose you that it was just what I did. We…we haven't even talked in forever. I fell in love and then I…and then I…I screwed everything up."
Izuku was shocked by all of what she had just said. He had assumed it had been something he had said, something he had done. "Uraraka…Ochako, why didn't you just tell me? I liked you too, you were my first friend at UA and…I had a huge crush on you. I kept Deku as my hero name because you had liked it! I always thought I had done something horrible without realising and ruined our friendship. I…should have seen it. I should have asked you first…I just…someone as special as you would never want to go out with someone as dull and ordinary as me…"
"I wish that we could have seen it. Our friendship was beautiful, Deku…could we at least have that back? I know I must look like a monster to you now…I just became a ball of hate and envy and murder…I think I may have killed people in that base. I used my Quirk on some rebar I found as javelins, to make their trajectory straighter, faster. Maybe with Nomus it would have been okay, but I threw them at people. Tenya says they all lived, but I saw one burst, his blood splatter all around. I wanted to kill Toga so much. And if you hadn't stepped in the way, I would have killed…your girlfriend. It hurts to say that, Deku. I thought she was a monster, a demon…I looked at the bodycam footage from Hatsume´s harness, and the monster was me."
"Ochako…I would never think you are a monster. People make wrong decisions, and sometimes when we do things, even for a good reason, they can be bad things in the end. I don't think you could ever be a monster, Ochako."
"You are too kind, Deku. I´ve hurt you, I…all of this, I think I´m hurting Tenya. But why did it have to be Toga, Deku?"
"There is so much good in her, still alive even after everything she has been through. When we met in Okinawa, I saw something in her, a sadness, a feeling of loneliness…I think I saw myself. I saw the Quirkless Deku, betrayed by all his friends, ignored by the adults. You remember when I told you guys about my Quirk and All Might? An hour before All Might told me I could be a hero, I was ready to throw myself off this tall building in Musutafu. It is 125 meters tall, and there is a key hidden under a potted plant for the lock on the roof door. I was just two blocks away, when I heard Kacchan´s explosions. I didn't hesitate and ran to help. And after that I was just told to stay out of the way, while the useless heroes who had done nothing to save Kacchan congratulated him.
"I didn't even realize when I was on my street. I had been turned around. Maybe I would have a day more to write a note for my mom, I thought. And then All Might gave me a second chance. I was reborn. And the Himiko I saw in Okinawa needed an opportunity like that. I wanted to help so badly it hurt. She was a kindred spirit, I guess. I convinced her to surrender to the police, but after that we were still stuck in a caved-in basement for a day and a half. We talked. She was funny when she could control herself, she was sweet. I did not want to like her; my whole rational mind was telling me to be careful. But I did. I gave her my phone number and made a hiding spot for her in the rubble.
"She left after you guys got me out. And then All for One broadcasted to all the world, and you know the story. We kept talking, many, many times. She would have given herself up anyway, but the Americans caught her first, and in the end, it was a blessing. I´m sorry if it hurts you when I say this, Ochako, but I love her. The Americans say she can atone by being their weapon, and things are so dangerous with Pestilentia now that I think it might be a fair trade. I´m not giving up on her."
Both of them had spent a lot of the conversation in a tight hug, interrupted by sobbing. "I think I can understand that, Deku. I…think I´m going to need some time to go over all this. And I have to apologize…I was horrible to Hatsume, I said horrible things to Toga…she also said very hurtful things, we will have to talk some time. And Tenya…he probably thinks I´m playing with his feelings." "Tenya cares a lot about you, he´ll understand. Then you think we can be friends again? Like before?" "Yes, I want that again, Deku."
With another hug, Izuku left the conference room with Uraraka. For the first time in two years, the silence was comfortable between them. "I´ll go and talk to Mei now. See you later, Ochako!" "See you, Deku!" Izuku felt a weight lift off his shoulders. He could not believe an issue this big for his past self had been worked out in a short while. Now he just had to make sure his best friend was alright.
Mei Hatsume checked her notebook again, filled to the brim with notes, diagrams and half-thought ideas. On a normal day she would always be either focused on the task at hand, completely in the moment, or full of thoughts and inspiration for new projects. This dichotomy had ultimately led her to become a very messy, disorganized person for everything except that which was essential for the project at hand, resulting in disorganized notebooks, bedroom, workshop and lab. If Izuku hadn't made her clean up every once in a while, she might have even slept among machinery sometimes.
But there she was rambling again in her thoughts about how lost she could get in them sometimes. And she kind of wished to just get lost, to let her overactive mind take her away, give her new ideas, instead of facing her feelings. And goddamn did her thoughts go back to that. She was shaken up, nervous and anxious. But was it the fact that she had gone through a warzone, fighting mercenaries without even an actual gun or wearing armour? Or that she realized she had feelings for Izuku, beyond what one would feel for their best friend?
Mei didn't think it was possibly the second option. It had to be the traumatic stress of a battle she had never prepared for. She was an engineer, an inventor for cry out loud! Not a hero. She never trained for that, she barely had combat lessons (Izuku had insisted and taught her himself, in hindsight now she probably knew why she had enjoyed those lessons so much…). And she had sacrificed almost thirty Babies, obviously she had to be a bit shook! Though the Babies had performed most admirably, and she thought they might sell very well someday. The implosion missiles hadn't even broken any laws of physics!
Maybe she had been very scared with the broken ribs and all the cuts? The painkillers had pretty much kept her from anything too agonizing, and her scars being super scratchy was just very annoying. Still, Recovery Girl was a scary old witch whenever she healed her, so she would not scratch her back. Nope, her injuries weren't too problematic, her dad had been very relieved that she had made it out with so little consequence. Her dad hadn't understood why she had personally joined the assault. It confused Mei, knowing everything she did of her father´s story.
As a hero, Mei´s dad had been in the frontlines as well. Blacksmith, the Battle Engineer, had never been a particularly well known or powerful hero, his command of ferrous metals just strong enough to pass the Ketsubutsu Academy entrance exam, and his main power being his expertise on vehicles and support items. He had been a working-class hero, close to his community and fierce in their defence, a team player above all. The newspapers may not have acknowledged Blacksmith, but some heroes had.
Five years before Mei had been born, Blacksmith had been recruited by Endeavor for an operation against the North Korean Remnant, the extremist holdouts who had rejected the unification of North and South fifty years prior. The Remnant still held a city, only designated as Alpha-2, surrounded by four military bases and hundreds of greenhouses, for feeding the population. A de-militarized zone a mile wide surrounded the Remnant, a Unified Korean army holding it on siege, an international fleet blockading the Remnant´s coast. The only thing holding back an invasion was an old Soviet Tsar Bomb, which would annihilate both sides and kill thousands of people.
A Japanese Intelligence informant had reported a sneak attack where the Remnant would punch a hole through the fleet, land on Japan and nuke Tokyo. Three teams had been sent along with the Japanese Navy´s aircraft carrier; All Might´s, Endeavor´s, and Gang Orca´s. No additional ships or heroes would be able to make it in time, the situation was critical. Every man involved would rather die than fail, no nuclear bomb would be detonated on Japan on their watch.
Musashi Hatsume was doing his patriotic duty, fighting for justice, and meeting his own heroes, like All Might and Endeavor. Endeavor had been an arrogant, power-obsessed bastard, and Blacksmith had hated him with a passion since they met, his humble, down to earth, curious and good-natured personality clashing immediately with the Fire hero´s. Despite that, he was a masterful tactician and a clear-headed team leader, and in battle he was reliable and brave.
Just as informed, the Remnant had attacked. Their technology had used inventive ways to torpedo the blockade fleet, and a supervillain on their side, Jian the Pale Sword, had actually cut the command ship in two. Fast boats had crossed the hole, a bomb on each, and the heroes had split up to catch them all. All Might had left his team to be commanded by Sir Nighteye and gone to engage Jian, a cyborg ninja of extreme power, and the 15th most wanted villain at the time, and the Remnant´s fleet, which had sallied out to exploit the weakness in the allied squad.
Endeavor had sent three zodiac fast boats, each with two heroes and a few Korean SEALs on board, each one heading for the enemy watercraft. Blacksmith had led his team, accompanied by the trainee hero Selkie, fighting for justice on his provisional license, going far left. With Blacksmith´s Quirk they had managed to sabotage the enemy bowrider boat and approach to board it, but before they got any closer, an anti-vehicle missile had been fired at them. A concussive missile, coated in a thermo-active plastic, so all Blacksmith could do was take the hit for his people. He saved Selkie, and prevented five families from losing a father, five women from becoming widows. Mushashi Hatsume had saved his team, but lost his right leg halfway in the thigh, sustained second degree burns on his back and both arms, and had half his left pinkie finger blown up.
The operation had been successful, and Japan had been saved. Blacksmith had been thanked for his services, given a medal, and paid bills at the hospital, but little else. He had to wrangle physiotherapy for the injury with taking over the "Famous Hatsume Workshop" from his aunt, the retired F1 driver "Coppers" Hatsume.
Blacksmith was focused and tireless, applying all his will to the physical therapy. The instant he had received his prosthetic leg he had started tweaking with it, sometimes to the annoyance of the therapists and doctors. When trying the Walking Leg Mk. IV, a semi-powered "auto-mail" leg, Hatsume had accidentally ran into a pink haired surgeon, called Motoko. Instead of accepting the hundreds of apologies the ex-hero said, Motoko had just stared at his prosthetic with her cross-haired eyes. She had called it a "Baby" and had started talking, a hundred miles a minute. Musashi had made a great friend that day, and by the end of the month they were dating.
A spinal surgeon and a hero-turned-engineer married soon after, and from them was born the currently stressed genius, Mei Hatsume! Mom would see her tomorrow; her job took her all over the country when especially difficult surgeries were necessary. Her Quirk, like Mei´s, was Zoom, which combined with a steady hand had made her one of the foremost surgeons in her area. At the moment she had gone to an expo showcasing new technology and techniques for surgery, especially interested in some new tools that could help fix up the injuries of numerous cases Motoko had overseen, among them Tensei Iida.
Mei hadn't given much thought to not seeing her mother in what? Almost two months? She would have to commandeer the Mei sometimes for personal visits, she didn't want to lose contact with her beloved parents.
The inventor girl heard footsteps coming. She hadn't used the time to think her questions, to think about how to talk to Izuku. There was a knock on the door, and he was there. What was she going to do? Would she be jealous like Uraraka? No, it wasn't like she liked him or anything…And she didn't think she could ever get that murderous about anything. Would she be angry? Would she just be happy? Izuku was at the door and she didn't know what she would do.
"Come in, Izuku, its unlocked!" He smiled softly at her, taking a seat on the bed beside her "Hey, Mei. Before we say anything, can I say thank you?" "Huh?" Mei had no idea what he meant. "You risked your life to save me, you didn't have to, but everyone told me how far you went for me. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you and the others, but I´m thankful. You saved my life. And that adrenalin shot you gave me pulled me away from a Quirk dream, letting me fight." Mei felt a bit flustered at being thanked so earnestly and she couldn't articulate much of a response "Eh…huh, yah?"
She blinked and took a deep breath, focusing after a couple of seconds "We were never going to leave you there, Izuku! You are our friend, you are my best friend, of course I would go and save you! And I also had an opportunity to test more than thirty Babies!" She tried to bring any conversation to technical improvements, or heroes or pretty much anything they talked easily about, not to start talking about any feelings. "But Mei…I know you, something is bothering you. Was it the fight? Your injuries? Or something else?"
"I…I don't know Izuku. Maybe? I feel really distracted, all I´m thinking is that I don't know what is going on, I guess. How am I supposed to feel about all of this? I…don't even understand these notes I made. This doodle for a hover-boot was so bad that I stopped halfway. My back is all itchy, I feel like a little girl that wants her mommy, and I don't even know how to feel about…about you?"
Mei closed her eyes. "I trust you completely Izuku. You are very important to me. Apart from my family, I don't care so much for anyone else. But…you don't trust me, do you? Toga…all that was going for a full year and you didn't tell me anything." Tears started flowing…Mei didn't remember the last time she had cried. "We are best friends, Izuku! We are not supposed to keep secrets from each other, and suddenly you have a villain-prisoner-government-agent girlfriend out of nowhere? It hurts, you know? And its not because I like you or anything…I mean I do you like you but I don´t know if like that or if I´m just confused because I don't know how to say what I feel, cause I never felt like this…But really I think I´m just angry at you!"
Mei huffed and looked away. "I…it was technically a crime, Mei. I never should have kept you in the dark. I´m really sorry." He got closer. Mei normally didn't think about personal space or physical contact, but she suddenly was very conscious of how close he was. And then he hugged her. Why did it feel so right? This was unfair. She said softly "I…I´m not really that angry at you, Izuku." She wasn't about to leave the embrace anytime soon. She really was feeling "feelings", huh? What horrible timing. At least she would have him as her best friend. "I just want you to trust me as much as I trust you, okay? Please, Izuku" "I´m not breaking your trust again, Mei." That was probably good enough, for now. She was a big girl, she could get over having a crush on her best friend. And she didn't know the first thing of being a girlfriend anyway. Having her best friend was much better than risking a relationship when she knew nothing about them and could ruin all.
The Shieldmaiden Hero, Freya, didn't consider her potential as a hero to be underused while serving as a guard in a hospital. Everyone deserved some rest, even more if their next move was going to be as big as she thought. She strolled lazily on the hallways, her power present, menacing to her enemies, comforting to her allies. She moved like a lioness at rest, a certain spring on her step telling anyone careful enough to see that she could wreck their shit at a moment's notice.
Though perhaps she didn't look particularly menacing at the moment, dressed like she was returning from a workout or just lounging at home. In armour, though, she commanded fear and respect in the battlefield.
The hospital wasn't too big. Perhaps fifteen rooms in each floor, with three operating theatres, the conference room doctors used, which the brown haired (previously very angry) girl had used to talk with the green haired boy, and two waiting rooms, one which the rest of the teens were using, and the other, for guard duty. A square corridor connected everything, with access for elevators on the central side and the stairs on the external side. Sound civil engineering, if a bit boring, architecturally.
As the daughter of a pair of historians, young Freya had learned quite a bit about architecture, trade, anthropology, warfare and even about farming through her parents´ studies. A few may have considered them strange for the detail they put into every bit of research about the so-called Viking Era; they considered their approach "holistic". It had made for a magical childhood, and had made her hero theme completely obvious. Though her father had been irate when she had decided to add wings to her helmet, "They didn't have horns, wings or anything, are you Asterix or something?" They still laughed about it when they met.
If she had designed the building, she would have probably made the shape round and organic, resembling the trunk of a tree. Smooth dark stone on the outside, with panels of light to give off a futuristic mood. No visible windows, just the surface. And the inside…wood panels and lighter stone, state of the art furniture, a fireplace…well that was just the house she was planning to build in Iceland, not a hospital!
Maybe Agent Anna could discuss architecture with her, she was smart and cultured after all. Maybe not in a "can play classical music on a piano and recite poetry in Latin" type of cultured but in the "I know weird stuff about the Roman Empire and trivia from your favourite movies, and I know the best street food in every city" type of cultured.
The green haired boy coming out of the genius girl´s room surprised her a bit, taking her out of her musings on making the hospital a nicer building. The unintentional heartthrob in his group, the kid´s eyes lit up with enthusiasm when he saw her. Was he looking for her or something? "Oh my God, it´s really you! Number one hero of the Nordic Confederation Freya! The Shieldmaiden!" "Yes, I am! How did you know? I have no armour and you did not see me in the rescue!" His enthusiasm made her smile, she could tell he was a good boy. "I´m a really big fan of heroes since I was little! I keep up with the news on heroes and I write about their Quirks and abilities. It is always a big honour to meet heroes so strong and brave! When you fought the Mad Elf those years ago, I was very impressed!" That fight hadn't been too public, the green lad had to be very interested indeed.
"You are a great hero too, Dekoo! I saw the fight against fish sauce head man and I liked!" "Oh, you mean the Nomu? I felt a bit bad for being so ruthless, but I had to protect my friends. Uhhh…could I have your autograph?" He had suddenly produced a notebook and a pen from somewhere. "Of course, of course!" She signed it in English; "For the great hero Dekoo, from the great hero Freya Gunarrssdottirr" and a doodle of a fish smiling with an immaculate human denture. "We talk later, you should go to bed. It is late." The boy agreed and said goodbye, leaving for his room.
Agent Anna would probably be relieved that, with the Dekoo boy finally in bed, they had no expected movement for the night, and could wait for the next shift in the waiting room. She waved as she opened the door and crossed in. "Hello, all the barn are in the beds. Kiddies I mean." Sometimes a word or two slipped in from her native Norwegian. "Any news?"
"That Inspector gadget looking guy had some new info; Midoriya´s story on Toga checks out, at least the Ako part. They are sending over some guys tomorrow for a blood sample, maybe they can match it with the one on the record. And I have even better news, just for you." "What would that be, Anna?" "Remember that you told me you had never had Chicago Pizza? Or New York Pizza? Turns out there´s a place for each in town, and they deliver. Up for a bit of a competition?" "Hoh! Anytime! What is the competition?" "We´ll bet which one gets here first, if we call them at the same time!" "Deal!" "You didn't even ask what we were betting?" "We are betting something?" "How about the loser has to tell a secret?" "I like it! Let´s call!"
Thankfully, the pizza places had an app, because her Japanese was non-existent, and Anna´s was somehow worse. "How did you survive with two teenagers speaking Japanese all the time?" Freya asked. "I kinda assumed it was all probably dirty talk between them, I tuned out. So, New York or Chicago?" "Hmmm…Chicago!" A lucky choice, in the end. Between bites, Freya said "This is so good! But we´ll need to exercise these many calories?" "Oh, I´ve got a few workouts we can try tomorrow…" Was that a wink? Two could play that game!
Freya scooted over in the couch, till they were almost touching. Freya spoke, her voice just above a whisper, looking directly into her eyes, holding the young woman´s gaze, transfixed. "You owe me a secret, Anna." She licked her lips and replied "I´ll whisper it in your ear, it´s a secret after all." Freya felt Anna´s warm breath tickling her neck and ear and then she heard, in a sultry, seductive voice, "You have tomato sauce all over your cheek!" They both burst out laughing, while Anna grabbed a breadstick, and used it to wipe the offending tomato sauce from her cheek.
"As attractive as eating cheek-tomato is, you owe me the secret!" "Whisper it in your other ear? This time for real?" "Okay, okay." She was really close, almost kissing her ear when she said, "I like you."