Thank you for loving Imanu being one with the boys. It gets even better when (possible spoilers) Apollo returns and (possible spoilers again) Blake joins them.

Intersession: Guys' Night II Part One

SHIELD Headquarters, New York - 19:21 PM

After the guys agreed to have a guys' night with Imanu, Iqadi pulled her husband away from her parents to tell him the news. When she finished, she expected him to be thrilled at a night out but he looks petrified. At least they were speaking in their dialect so nobody but her parents would understand. Iqadi takes a step closer to shorten the gap between them so they wouldn't have to talk too loud.

"You planned this?" Imanu asks.

"I planned you going," Iqadi responds. "I don't know what they have planned."

"That's not comforting."

Iqadi rubs his arm. "You're doing this to relax. Besides, they've had long years as well."

"Then why do I feel scared?"

"You're overreacting."

Before Imanu could argue, they stop talking when Xavier, Daniel, and James start making their way over. But they stop when Daniel and Xavier turn to give James matching disapproving faces.

"No," Daniel tells James, "you can't get fireworks."

"Why not?" James asks. Funny how he needs permission to get fireworks.

"Because we said so," Xavier adds. Funny how that will stop him.

"You guys are no fun," James whines. "Apollo would've let me get them."

"No, he wouldn't."

Daniel faces Xavier. "Actually, he would."

Xavier glares at him. "No, he wouldn't."

"He'd want to know how they'd fly if James lit them with his bioelectricity."

"Now you're giving James ideas."

Iqadi pauses, unsure if she should cut into their conversation or not. Saying that Apollo would let James have fireworks isn't the best thing to say, especially with the power incentive. As those boys continue bickering and James begs (now wanting to try out Apollo's hypothetical idea), Iqadi faces Imanu and gives him a plastered smile while his unamused face proves that this is too dangerous for him.

"But our anniversary is soon," Imanu mutters in their dialect. As if the other boys could hear them over their conversation. "It's our first and that's an important one."

Iqadi scoffs, rolling her eyes. "That's months away. This will only be one night. You'll be back in plenty of time."

"I wouldn't count on that."

"Have fun." She smiles and kisses him on the cheek. Iqadi walks towards the other boys and that alone gets their undivided attention. "You'd better take care of him. Our first anniversary in in a few months and that's an important one."

As Iqadi leaves them, Imanu watches her go. He mentally begs for her to come back and save him, not even feeling petty that she used his words against him. Imanu has nothing against her friends. They're cool guys and great to hang out with. And he could use more guy friends with some time to be informal. He's just scared of the seemingly inevitable chaos and the possibility of James controlling fireworks with his bioelectricity.

"Don't worry," Xavier says, clapping Imanu's shoulder. He jumps a little at the unexpected contact. "You'll go home in one piece."

"Don't tell him that," Daniel whispers although Imanu heard that, "James still wants fireworks."

Xavier shushes him and Daniel groans in frustration.

"We don't have Apollo as a shield for when the fireworks go wild," Daniel angrily whispers to Xavier.

"James isn't getting fireworks," Xavier responds the same way. "I have an idea." Xavier looks past them and sees James on his phone, probably looking for fireworks. "Hey, James! If you think about it, this could be the bachelor party Imanu never got."

James looks up from his phone, turning to face them as he puts his phone back in his jacket pocket. Imanu smiles nervously as he nods to support Xavier's plan. Was it too late to catch the flight back to Wakanda? But Iqadi had a bachelorette party and it was … maybe he can run for the jet.

"A bachelor party is the ultimate guys' night," James states.

-o-

Coney Island - 21:59 PM

A guys' night out is only limited by the imagination since every boy is different, especially Imanu, Xavier, Daniel, and James. No group of guys could be more different, except if Apollo was present. Whatever the case, a typical guys' night and bachelor party is the perfect time to reconnect and unwind with their friends. Imanu's been in Wakanda the whole time and the other three were on their separate paths since their school year ended.

Since it's a holiday, Coney Island got extended hours and additional gimmicks. Rides, food, games, and prizes were Avenger themed. Some were more disturbing than others but it's a time for celebration. Not only is it the twentieth anniversary of The Battle of New York but it now doubles as Imanu's bachelor party.

And Imanu was beyond fascinated with Coney Island. Everything from the people having the time of their lives to the attractions to the bright lights to the smell of fried dough. He resembled an innocent child seeing the world for the first time and, in a way, he was. Their night barely started and he was already having fun.

"Do you deep-fry everything?" Imanu asks.

Xavier doesn't hesitate. "Yes. Anything you like?"

"They all look the same."

"Trust me," Daniel says cautiously. "They're not."

As a group, they got chicken-fried hot dogs with all the fixings. Imanu didn't have to ask because none of the other guys knew what it meant for something to be chicken-fried. The hot dog alone is questionable but, fuck it, it's a bachelor party at Coney Island. (But Xavier finished Daniel's and Imanu's since he could handle it better.)

"How about we address the elephant in the room?" James suggests, tossing his crumpled wrapper into the trash and sinking it.

Imanu sighs. "After this learning curve for the past year, this wasn't what I expected. I knew there were a lot of rules but -"

"No, the actual elephant." James points ahead and a real elephant is walking within a confined circle. He walks over with fascination, taking pictures and videos to send to Angela. She'll love it. "It looks like a Kirby."

Xavier points his camera at James and zooms in. "It looks like an idiot."

Daniel looks at Imanu, ignoring the other two. "...but?"

Imanu pauses before realizing that Daniel wants him to finish before James got distracted. "Iqadi is a very rule-oriented person, you know that. She follows orders and goes by protocol but she won't hesitate to bend or completely break it for me."

Daniel smiles. "That's called love."

"I understood that eventually. It took my mother-in-law to tell me that Iqadi loves me more than I believed she did. It's just that I feel like I don't deserve it. I don't deserve her. She's too good for me. You know her, she's a princess."

Daniel nods, inhaling deeply with an empathetic smile. "I get that. I'm living that. I am … that."

"Me too," Xavier adds.

"Same," James agrees.

"Yeah, definitely for you."

James glares at Xavier and mocks him.

-o-

The guys continue walking through the fair, figuring out what to do. There were so many options and the night was still very young. It helps that they're still wide awake after a long day at SHIELD Headquarters.

"And right there," James points at the Ferris wheel up ahead for Imanu to see, "is where I asked Angela to be my girlfriend."

"Oh, that's so sweet," Imanu replies happily.

"It's also where she didn't say yes," Xavier adds in the same chipper tone.

James frowns. "Don't ruin my story!"

"Just helping you tell it."

Daniel takes Imanu away from James. "Ignore them."

"If we go on that," Imanu points at the Ferris wheel, "do we have to take them with us?"

"Yes because if they get their own car, Xavier will throw him over once they reach the top."

"But James can fly."

Daniel knows Imanu has a point but it's James. " … still."

"How did you survive the Academy with them?"

"Good question."

-o-

The moment they spot an empty carnival game, they go for it. It's a booth where they had to shoot down duck swimming in rows of a cardboard river plastered on the other side of the booth. The goal is to knock them over with water guns. Aside from the vacancy, they could win a Thor plushie. It's the closest they'll get to having Apollo here so they will try and win it. But they also want to win against each other. So they take a seat, arm up, and start firing when the bell goes off.

"Let's see if Operations taught you two anything," Daniel says to Xavier and James.

Xavier and James glance at him oddly before returning to the game. Who knew Daniel was so competitive over a carnival game? It's not like some stranger will win the Thor plushie.

Again, to their surprise, Imanu's doing great.

"Where did you learn that?" James asks. "I thought you didn't do combat things."

"I don't train but I watch," Imanu responds. "Not voluntarily."

James pauses shooting his water gun. He looks around. His friends are concentrating on the game and the attendant has zoned into another dimension. People passing are too focused on their own lives. So, with that in mind, James raises a fist and shoots some ducks down with his bioelectricity.

"Are you kidding me?!" Xavier screams.

James laughs maniacally as Xavier spins his water gun around and shoots him. Daniel and Imanu follow, laughing wildly.

The relevant counterparts will be posted at the end of the next chapter.

A cute parallel is that as these chapters are going up, I'm writing Daniel's bachelor party in PNG.