Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
LEO
I finally wrote a will.
It wasn’t because I was hoping to die anymore, but because my girlfriend was a madwoman on wheels.
Alex didn’t get rid of that fucking bike—no, she upgraded instead.
The moment her customized helmet came in, everything went to shit.
She claimed she needed more horsepower to cart my heavy ass around, and I’d gotten used to being called a mammoth whenever my size became inconvenient.
Apparently, this was love.
“Slow down!” I shouted as she hopped onto the freeway, my arms wrapped around her waist as I clung on for dear life.
She sped through passing cars, splitting lanes and holding onto the throttle like she was choking out the leaders of Splinter. The VIA released her, just as promised, but Alex didn’t want to go anymore. She had a new goal, something to speed toward—even if it meant killing us both.
But hey, anything for my girl, right?
New hotbeds of Villain activity popped up, more Heroes were being rescued from those fucking experiment chambers, and Alex was at the head of it all.
Joon was right. Splinter had endless branches in its network, all across the globe.
Nightmyre had been the first outbreak, the start.
Dahlia pulled some strings, and Alex finally got what she deserved—first class Hero status.
The VIA recognized her for what she was, what she could do, and now?
She was hunting every last Splinter member down with a vengeance.
I’d become a sidekick.
Every time there was a lead, we dashed off by bike or by plane, traveling to different cities and continents.
Her ability only grew as she continued to perfect it; almost every interrogation led to a success now.
We made sure to gather information from each bust and arrest, bringing back tech and chips to the VIA in hopes that it could help Joon.
And I still hadn’t burned her. Not even once.
Instead, I learned what cotton sheets felt like, got used to couches that weren’t singed and walls that weren’t made of metal.
That was her first demand from the VIA—that I got to move out of my makeshift cell, and was allowed to sleep on ‘real fucking pillows like a human being’.
I never got tired of telling her how sexy she was when she cussed out agents in suits.
There was a learning curve, of course. When everything had settled, when Joon was safe, we took a month off to re-organize our lives.
Alex had a nervous breakdown, week one. Her apartment had been in shambles—literally.
Joon imploded the whole damn thing as Glitch.
What was meant to be a time to decompress was spent searching through rubble, salvaging what we could, and filing paperwork I didn’t even know existed.
Apparently, her renter's insurance didn’t come close to covering the damage, and the VIA was playing the ‘not our fault’ game.
Alex hadn’t started receiving her first class salary, yet.
After some encouragement—Reed and I showing up with an assortment of intimidation techniques—they finally agreed to cover it, on top of the down payment for our new place.
The next battle? Decorating. Turns out I like fluffy things.
I like them a lot. Cushions, pillows, blankets — all things flammable.
Color, shape, and size didn’t matter. It was the feeling.
The not cold-hard-steel sensation of it all.
Alex had an eye for things that matched, and I came home with anything I liked to touch.
Compromise was something else she’d taught me.
She provided options and gave me the final say.
Everything was white, pink, and soft. The day I discovered silk pillowcases, my world imploded. Alex had bought me five since then.
We owned four pillows. That was love, too. Endless giving, support, and creating space for each other. I’d never get enough of it. When we idled at a red light, the sunset lowering over Nightmyre; I tucked my chin into her shoulder. She leaned back, as she always did.
“Hey, sleepy Sloth,” I hummed, grinning as she threw a playful elbow into my gut. “Wanna know something?”
The horn shapes on her helmet shone as she glanced back at me. The static in my earpiece crackled as she responded. “What?”
“You’re getting pretty good at this whole ‘Saving the Hero’ thing. I think I’m your biggest fan.”
I could almost see her rolling her eyes. “Why are you being sweet? Did you do something? Did you leave the oven on again? I swear to God, Leo—”
“Nope,” I squeezed her middle, letting my heat wash through her. “I think I’m in love, or something.”
Vulnerability is a hell of a drug.
Her laugh made my skin spark. “Maybe it’s the dopamine, but I think I’m in love or something, too.”
“I think you caught me in one of your daydreams,” I murmured, content. “This feels like a happy ending, and that doesn’t happen in real life, right?”
She turned around, tucking her fingers beneath my helmet to pull me toward her. Our helmets touched in that way she liked, the one that she said was a ‘biker kiss’.
“I told you I’d show you what it’s like to be happy, Leo,” Alex’s voice was husky. “Call it a daydream, or reality, but that’s a promise I won’t break.”
I wasn’t caught in one of her daydreams; this wasn’t the manifestation of an ability. This was Alex’s spell—that draw, that pull that I’d always felt, but was too stupid to chase. I was caught in her, and I never wanted to break free.