#hero sidekick

“Thank you for inviting me over for tea, Kim,” Mender said as she took another cinnamon roll. 

Kim smiled in reply. “Well, tea and cinnamon rolls are always better when you can share them, and sorry for the spontaneous message.”

They were sitting on the terrace of Kim's apartment building. When Kim had moved in they'd asked the landlord if they could make a garden on the rooftop, and they were allowed to, but on the condition that they would get half of everything Kim produced. 

But despite that, Kim liked spending their free time tending to their little rooftop garden. And since it wasn't harvest season yet, the two strange friends were enjoying the last of the summer sun in Kim’s little green haven. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Mender said, munching away. “These last two weeks have been so hectic, I really needed this break. And to just get away from all the hard work with the agency for a bit.” 

“I can imagine it’s been hectic, dealing with Dragonfly and all that. I mean, Nizorro Blimp News still hasn’t stopped talking about you!” Kim said with a light smile, but when Mender was not smiling back they pivoted, “Sorry… guess it’s been a lot. Is everything okay?”

“It’s getting better,” Mender answered after a small pause. “Because of the prolonged exposure to the Desolite in the power suppression cuffs, I had to spend two nights in the med-bay, though one of those days was just for observation. Still, I don't think I’ve ever felt that ill and weak before in my life.” 

Mender looked back up at Kim, who had remained silent, and part of her wanted to ask them about that night. Mender wanted to confirm her suspicion that it was them who had actually sabotaged the weapon, which helped to save both her and Shadows... But she knew that Hirra had already tried talking to Kim about that, and that they had denied doing it. Although Mender certainly didn't believe that Kim was telling the truth, she knew that she was not going to get Kim to talk about it yet. “Just glad that Lady Alexandria took all the interviews for me, so I didn’t have to,” she finally said after the small silence.

“Well…” Kim said, “let’s just hope the worst is over and that you get a nice event-free week.” 

“Ha! In this city? Keep dreaming!” Mender said, smiling.

Meanwhile, only one block over, Hirra was sitting on another rooftop, spying down at the two with her binoculars. “I can’t believe this!” she grunted. “That crime-stopping, goody two-shoes of a hero sidekick! That's my sibling! You sibling-thief!” she yelled as she saw the two laugh at one of Kim’s jokes, still unaware of her presence. Finally, she whispered, “Time for some sneaking!” and began to move closer.

“What recipe did you use for the cinnamon rolls?” Mender asked Kim just as she was about to take another one. “They taste so different from the ones my family makes.”

“It’s a Northern recipe,” Kim answered, “it’s less sweet and has different icing. Shadow and I have been making these for years. I can give you the recipe if you like–”

“NO! YOU. WILL. NOT!” Hirra jumped down in front of the two. 

Mender immediately took a battle stance, startled. But didn't get out of it once she realized it was just Hirra. While the two were sort of friends after the creating the sidekick club, and regularly had study sessions together, the two were nemeses… ish. Anyway, to prevent harm to either friend, Kim quickly got in-between them both. “Hirra? How long have you been spying on us?”

“Long enough! How dare you? You can't just give out Shadow's secret recipe like that!” Hirra said, tone clearly indicating outrage. 

“Secret recipe? Oh, Hirra…” Kim said, trying to calm their sibling. “Shadows and I found that recipe online! It’s not a secret.”

“It’s secret as far as I'm concerned! ALSO!” Hirra yelled even angrier, before mumbling quietly, “Why did you only invite her…?” She looked over at Mender, who now felt awkward and confused. 

“Because,” Kim said, while planning their words carefully, “sometimes it’s NICE to only have one person visiting at a time. Like, as a completely random example, a movie night with homemade stew and snacks this Friday.” 

There was a silence that fell over the trio before Hirra let out a single “Oh… you only invited me?”

“Yup!” Kim said, slightly sarcastic but still gentle. 

“Right…” Hirra said before turning to Mender. “HA! You only get a dumb tea party with Kim, while I get a full movie night!” But before Mender got to make a comeback, Hirra had already gone for the cinnamon rolls “But I’ll still take those!”

“OI!” Kim yelled as Hirra jumped off the building and ran off,  “HIRRA! Get back here with our cinnamon rolls!” they yelled, but it was too late, as she was already gone.

“Do you want me to go after her?” Mender chuckled, as she looked down to the streets below. 

But Kim only smiled before turning away, “No, you’re still on break! Now, if you'll excuse me for just a moment.”

“Where are you going?” Mender asked as Kim opened the doors to the stairs. 

“Getting more cinnamon rolls! I always make a double batch of them. I’ll be back in just a moment!” they answered as they closed the door behind them.

Mender was just about to sit back down before Kim suddenly got back out again. “Hey!” they said, grabbing Mender’s attention.

“Yes?” Mender asked, slightly disappointed that Kim had come back empty-handed. 

“Do you want to watch a movie? As revenge on Hirra for the stolen cinnamon rolls,'' they asked, grinning. 

Mender grinned back; they would absolutely love to watch a movie, and rub it in Hirra’s face. 

So, a few hours later, as Hirra finished munching the last cinnamon rolls, she got a notification on her phone. It was from… Mender? She rarely sent Hirra texts. What if she and Kim were hurt?! She quickly clicked on the notification to see… A SELFIE OF THEM AND KIM WATCHING A MOVIE WITHOUT HER and… MORE CINNAMON ROLLS??? Those backstabbers… 

Then again, maybe she should have seen it coming that Kim would do something in retaliation for their stolen snacks… 

“Touché.” she mumbled to herself.