Reese's Complex

Dinner

"Huh. So, you're the guy who kissed me."

Reese could feel every hair on his arms stand on end, his gut tightening. Dark eyebrows pressed into each other just above wide, green eyes. His throat was too dry to speak a single word.

Tony's voice had been loud enough for all to hear. Everyone at the table turned to look through the window, too invested to continue peeking out of the corner of their eyes.

What Reese would have given to forget how to breathe in that very moment. Unfortunately, his lungs were still taking shallow, labored breaths.

This guy was totally going on to his enemies list.

His hands pulled into tight fists. Almost achingly so. This time he would make sure blondie couldn't get another whisper out. Not from around his feeding tube, anyway.

All of this happened over a few seconds, at most. The world, which had slowed to a crawl around him, returned to full speed at the sound of his mother's voice.

"Excuse me. He did what?" Her head tilted, as if adjusting her antenna to get a better signal.

Reese's eyes ran laps back and forth between the tall boy and Lois.

Tony paid him an amused glance.

"Oh. Sorry. I bit my tongue when your son attacked me." He stuck it out, displaying a clearly swollen, red portion. Looking a bit closer, you could see a bite mark which had since scabbed over. "What I meant to say was 'you're the guy who hit me.'"

Lois blinked in confusion. Reese did the same. "I don't really see how a bruised tongue would-"

"Hey, something smells great! Don't tell me you hired a professional chef just to impress me, Mrs. Wilkerson." Tony raised an eyebrow at the older woman, charming grin on full display. His relaxed demeanor made it seem like he had been friends with her for a long time, even though they had only just met in-person.

She scoffed, eyes brighter than before. "Oh, stop. I just threw something together. I hope you can enjoy it with your tongue all messed up like that." She shot Reese a disapproving look, but it was no different than her usual ones.

"Nonsense. If it tastes half as good as it smells then I should be just fine. Your husband better keep an eye out. A woman as talented and beautiful as you must be fighting off the men with a stick."

Lois cackled. "Please. I retired my stick almost two decades ago. Come in, come in. Let me introduce you to the rest." It was obvious from her warm expression that, despite her outward modesty, the compliments had buttered her up. She stepped aside and motioned for the boy to enter.

Tony strolled past his assailant with decided ease, their shoulders knocking together the slightest bit. The motion caused a wave of his cologne to drift against Reese's nose. The same woody cinnamon and gritty sugar as before.

Reese hated how good it smelled. Hated that he was about to have dinner with that smug bastard. The stunt that guy pulled with his tongue was a warning. A challenge. Are you going to back down or man up?

He slammed the door shut, silencing the rain outside, and turned toward the kitchen. How was he going to make Tony pay? Lois was already on his side and he had the kiss as blackmail, so Reese had to be careful.

Crap.

"This is my husband Hal." His mother was showing Tony off to the family like a new pair of heels.

"I'm really sorry about my son. You better believe I'll be having a serious conversation with him about this behavior." His father said, voice overly-serious. The same voice he used when talking to the principal about Reese's previous stunts. That was a lie worthy of an eye roll.