𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 (𝐃𝐚𝐛𝐢 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

27

You weren't entirely sure what to say. The question was broad enough to mean a few different things. However, the weight of her gaze insinuated that there was only one thing she could've been talking about. You sighed in defeat. "It's complicated." 

"I'm sure," your friend stepped inside, her neon pink hair glowing underneath the dim light of your living room. You followed after her, expecting a lecture or some sort of scolding. But she stopped a few feet away from the couch, turned, and threw her arms around you. The action startled you, and both you and Aya would have ended up on the floor if you hadn't managed to keep your balance. "We'll talk about the other stuff in a second, but I'm so glad that you're ok. That night... I didn't know if you were even alive or not. It was terrifying."

It sounded as though she were on the brink of tears. You hugged her back, not realizing how much of a relief it would be to see her again. "It would have been really embarrassing if a guy who looked like Zankoku was the one to deal me in," you said. "I'm sorry for the stress it caused you. The president must have been frantic."

Aya pulled away, lightly brushing under her eyes. "It was complete chaos. But since I'm just an intern, I was told to leave after a while so that it could be dealt with by professionals." She took your hand and pulled you to the couch. Both of you sat down. "I will say, your villain has earned a bit more respect from me after what he did," she admitted. "I know that murder is wrong or whatever, but the fact that he was willing to risk everything by sneaking into a place teeming with heroes and law enforcement to save you is... admirable I guess." You went to agree, but her expression flattened some, and she raised an eyebrow. "Not admirable enough to get me to sleep with him, though."

Damn, it hadn't taken long to get back to that conversation. How were you supposed to explain this to her?  There was no point in sugarcoating. If she judged you for it, so be it.  You leaned back against the cushions. "If I'm being completely honest, admirability had nothing to do with it. I slept with him long before I knew that he had any redeemable qualities."

Aya's reaction was not what you expected, in fact, she had barely any reaction at all. There was only a long breath of disappointment. "I probably should've guessed that. You aren't the type to let someone call you 'Princess' unless you're into them."

"I tried to get him to stop with that," you said defensively. 

"Tried and failed." The topic of the conversation stepped into the room. He'd changed clothes again, wearing a jacket instead of the tank top from earlier. "I think she's always secretly liked it."

Aya watched him with disdain before turning back to you. "Whatever. We can continue this later. I expect more details. But you wanted to talk about something else right? I'm assuming it has to do with the information you got?"

"Yeah," you said, relieved by the change of subject. "I wanted to tell you guys about our plans." 

"Are we just waiting on Hawks to show up?" She asked. 

Impeccably timed as always, the hero decided that that was the perfect moment to step out of your bathroom, slam the door and walk into the living room. His hair was still wet from his shower. Shit. You should've told Hawks to go out and fly through the window or something because now Aya's eyes were the size of coasters. 

What were you supposed to tell her? You could lie and say he came by after his patrol and needed to shower off, but was there really any point in that? God, you felt awful. She'd said herself that Hawks wasn't someone she was romantically interested in, but that could've been because she was too embarrassed to admit it. Based on her expression, that seemed like the case. Aya looked between the three of you, before meeting your eyes and giving the smallest smile. "You freaky bitch. There's no way."