mothman's husband

“I do; it’s in my office. He’s here early though, so I’ll have to get it to you later.” The man began to walk away, motioning for you to follow as he continued toward the elevators. It was once you were stepping out on the administration floor that he spoke again. “He went to the same high school as you, but he was in the hero course, so you might not-”

“Iida,” you interrupted your boss as you entered the conference room and saw the man standing within it. “Hey.”

For a moment, shock crossed his features, and he breathed your first name more than he said it.

You could only smile, genuine and relaxed at his sense of familiarity despite the years you’d been away.

It took a moment before you registered your boss speaking from beside you. “Right, well I was going to say, “Pro hero Ingenium, meet my head of support staff, Y/n L/n,” but it seems we’re well past that.”

Iida had not taken his eyes off you, and rather than acknowledging your boss, he spoke directly to you. “I didn’t know you were with this agency. It’s,” he shook his head slightly in amused disbelief. “It’s good to see you.”

“Well, not only am I here, but as it turns out, I am your liaison. So,” you stepped aside, motioning toward the door behind you. “Can I give you a tour?”

He nodded and gave a short, “Thank you, it was nice to meet you Mr. Williams,” to your boss before following you out the door.

You were too wrapped up in the presence of your old friend to notice the exasperation of the man left behind. “We have an open office just down the hall reserved for heroes here on exchange. We’ll go there first since now it’s yours.” You could feel Iida following close behind as you walked. His steps had a practiced lightness to them, which you suspected came from years of trying not to stomp with the extra weight in his legs. And yet even without the noise of footfalls, you knew exactly where he was at every moment. You could feel where the air shifted around him, much like you could with anyone else, and noted the shift in his posture as you rounded the corner and found a gaggle of people eagerly awaiting the transfer hero. Iida’s shoulders tensed when his hero name floated excitedly from one of the girls in the group that you recognized as one of the agency’s newer interns.

You sighed, turning to find the man had closed distance with you, having missed the fact that you’d stopped walking. You had to tilt your head up to be able to look him in the eye and for a moment your mind paused to take note of the fact that he was bigger than last you’d seen him. Taller, wider, and more of a presence despite him being in an unfamiliar environment. He was just as handsome as ever, more so now that he’d aged some, and-

No. You were at work. And it had been years. But apparently some things never changed; including the crush you’d once nursed for two and a half years on one Tenya Iida. There was a heat creeping up the back of your neck that you could only hope had gone unnoticed, and you cleared your throat, taking a step back to regain your personal space and composure.

“It seems news of your arrival has spread pretty quickly. You have something of a fan club waiting for you down there.” You saw him grimace and were quick to reassure, “You don’t have to go over there right now. We can start in another part of the building and come back later.”

Relief seemed to wash over him, and he nodded, backing up around the corner to gain cover from the wall, and not a moment too soon.

“Miss L/n!” the same intern from earlier shouted down the hall to you, seemingly having just become aware of your presence. You’re pretty sure her name was Jessica, though you’d only interacted with her twice since she started a couple weeks prior, so nothing was certain. “Was someone just with you?” She gestured vaguely to where Iida had been standing a moment prior.

“Yes, an old friend.” Not a lie, though you knew you were hiding the information the girl was seeking. “What are you doing?” you countered.

“Waiting for Ingenium! I’m such a fan, I mean I guess we all are, but I’ve never seen him in person before, so I-”

“You understand he’ll be here to work, right? As are you.”

The girl’s face fell dramatically. “Well, yes… but I thought it wouldn’t be a problem to meet him at least, and-”

“You’ve misunderstood me. I’m reminding you that you work in the same building, which means you will meet him at some point, and seeing him around will likely become a regular occurrence. You don’t need to stress an initial encounter, and you certainly don’t need a posse to do it.” You nodded toward the girl’s group of friends who had all tuned into the conversation by now.

“But they wanted to meet him too!” she rebutted.

You hummed in acknowledgement before asking, “One of the scoring criterion for the internship is “ability to follow set procedures in a professional environment,” right? Did any of them get background checked before being let into the building?”

The girl’s eyes grew wide as saucers and she quickly turned to the rest of the group which seemed to flood with confusion as Jessica spoke to them in a hushed tone, before they all eventually began to disperse.

You waited until they were all gone before shaking your head and huffing a sigh.

“That was nicely handled.”

You turned to look at him and quirked an eyebrow at Iida when you noticed the smirk he wore. “It appears I have become you in your absence.”

“Your absence,” he corrected. “I wasn’t the one who moved away.”

A sad smile crossed your face. He was right of course, but the reminder wasn’t one you appreciated very much. It made you think back to your last day in Japan, the way Iida had been the one to send you off at the airport, the hug you feared would crush your ribs but in the moment you couldn’t have cared less. You really thought he was going to kiss you that day, but he didn’t, and then adult life got in the way of whatever your relationship was at that point. You’d lost contact years ago.

Iida noticed your drop in demeanor. Of course he did.

“Y/n, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay, Iida, really. I just,” you took a moment to find an excuse, “leaving was really hard. I miss everybody.” It was mostly true, even if the sentiment applied more to one person than anyone else.

“Right. That makes sense. I apologize for bringing it up.”

You nodded, knowing he’d need his apology accepted in order to move on, if this facet of him was unchanged. “Thank you.” You only allowed for a brief moment of silence before pointing a thumb over your shoulder. “I think the pathway to your office is clear if you had any interest in trying again. I can double check though.”

He shook his head good-naturedly as he watched you peek around the corner of the wall as though you were trying to be sneaky. “I know you didn’t need to look with your eyes to know the hall was empty.”

“So what? We can’t do things for show anymore?”

“Is it clear?”

You smiled, victorious in getting him to play along. “All clear.” When Iida made a gesture of ‘after you,’ you stepped out again into the hallway and led the way, widely opening the door to his new office. “You can decorate however you like while you’re here. Mark will tell you not to put any new holes in the wall, but he isn’t the one who repairs them anyway and our maintenance team is really cool.”

“Understood,” he stated with a nod as he walked in a took a glance around the space. “It’s nice, but I may need a bigger working space in order to stay organized.” He frowned at his own sentiment. The last thing he wanted was to seem pretentious with his needs. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Iida, it’s fine,” you were quick to reassure, eyes still trailing around the room, much more concerned with its adequacy now that you knew who’d be occupying the space. “Do you want me to request a replacement desk or an additional one?”

Tenya’s shoulders relaxed slightly as he stared at you, knowing his statement could have been taken as rude by someone who didn’t know him as well. But even after so long apart, you’d known exactly what he’d meant, and what he hadn’t. He was sure he felt his heart rate increase.

“Or maybe some countertops?” The question hung in the air as you turned back to face him, still yet to receive an answer.

As soon as his eyes met yours Iida looked away, the tips of his ears turning pink, and he cleared his throat before answering, “An additional desk would be perfect. I prefer to use paper when taking notes on cases because-”

“Because you can’t lose your progress if you lose power. I remember,” you mused with a soft smile.

He swallowed hard. “Right. Exactly.” It was a rule he’d made for himself in school because of you, and he’d stuck with it ever since. The memory of that particular evening in his third year at UA flashed through Tenya’s mind, not unlike the lightning that flashed through the sky that night. You’d been over in his dorm room, helping him with a paper he was working on that, frankly, was not an assignment he would have been struggling with if he had been less stressed. You’d offered to be there as moral support and to help him stay on track as he worked on the paper and had ultimately been his saving grace when there was a particularly loud crack of thunder followed immediately by the whole building losing power. He hadn’t saved his work in over an hour, and all of it vanished with no hope of recovery. There was no way he was going to remember all of his talking points, which meant when the power came back, he’d have to start the entire thing from scratch. That was until you started giggling at his ranting and he’d turned on you, irritated at the situation and your apparent lack of gravity. You’d simply tossed your notebook at him, open to a page filled with his talking points, carefully written in a bullet point list with little doodles and annotations in the margins.

“I took notes while you were in your planning phase; I hope you don’t mind. I know it’s not the same as having all the progress you already made, but at least you won’t have to start all the way over.”

Tenya’s shock hadn’t even worn off enough for him to thank you before you’d suggested going on a walk through the halls to help clear his head before the power came back. It was the first night in weeks he’d been able to calm his mind; you’d given him that with nothing more than a notebook and a flashlight.

“Iida?”

“Hm?” His gaze refocused and found you staring at him expectantly.

“I asked if you’re ready to move on? If you’d like to stay, we can-”

“No.” The interruption came out harsher than he would have liked. “We can continue. Thank you.”

“Okay,” you accepted with a nod. “We can head downstairs so I can show you through the lobby and get your access cards and security details prepared so you’ll be able to get in without an escort. The café is also on that floor if you’re hungry.”

“Lunch sounds nice,” he started, realizing for the first time since arriving that he had skipped breakfast to ensure his punctuality. An entirely separate thought occurred to him, however. “Where is your office?”

“Oh, I’m actually just next door.” You pointed at the wall that his office shared with your own before continuing, “But I’m very rarely in there except to do occasional paperwork. If you’re looking for me during the day, you’re far more likely to find me in my lab.”

“Your lab,” he repeated, interest sparking in his eyes. “May I see it?”

A smile grew over your face at his interest. “I’d love to show you, but we should get your security clearance taken care of first and have lunch.”

“Agreed. Shall we?”

Iida gestured to the door with an outstretched hand and old habits nearly took over when your instant reaction was to reach for it. The moment your hand moved, however, you caught yourself and instead chose to jam the appendage into your pocket. You weren’t teenagers anymore; pulling your crush through the halls by his hand just so you’d have an excuse to touch him wasn’t appropriate. And the likelihood that his comfortability with you was entirely rooted in nostalgia rather than affection was far too great for you to risk embarrassing yourself.

Instead, you led Iida through the halls of your office building and back toward the elevators with your hands firmly in your own space.

“Just a heads up,” you noted, “the fan club orchestrator from earlier is going to be down there at the front desk. But she should at least be alone.”

It was as the doors were sliding shut that Iida showed a bit of discomfort, bringing a hand to the back of his neck to rub away the tension. “That shouldn’t be a problem. I was simply caught off guard by such a large group so immediately after my arrival.”

“I know, Iida, that’s why I sent them away.”

“As determined as ever to save me from myself, I see.”

The comment on its own was not one that would normally get under your skin but the tone he used… The cadence was lowered, and he spoke almost softly, as though he was sharing a secret, and he sounded downright smug. The realization that Iida of all people might be flirting with you made your cheeks heat. To try to distract from your reaction, you threw back, “Old habits die hard, I guess,” as nonchalantly as possible. But before you could see if it worked, the doors slid open and you watched, seemingly in slow motion, as Jessica realized who was standing directly in front of her.

Tenya’s thoughts were instantly snapped out of his panicked internal barrage of “what the hell are you doing?” by a screech of excitement.

“Uh…”

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry!” The girl looked just as shocked as the pair of you to be meeting like this. “I’m supposed to bow right?” The speed at which she bent at the waist made her forehead nearly hit the floor as she lost her balance, falling directly into Iida.

He caught her, stooping slightly to get his hands on her upper arms to stand the young lady right side up again. “Are you alright?”

“I’m so perfect, actually. It is so nice to meet you, Mr. Ingenium, sir.” She put her hand out in front of her, palm down as though she was expecting him to kiss her knuckles, and pouted slightly when the gesture went ignored.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he instead responded with genuine care. “I did not expect to find fans of mine outside Japan, so the fact you’re here provides a warm welcome. Thank you.”

“Of course! You know, if you’re ever looking for someone to show you around-”

This was where you decided your input was needed. “Iida, this is Jessica, one of our high school interns doing her workplace study for a business course.”

She shot you the kind of glare you’d only ever seen get thrown between women competing over a potential suitor, and you had to stifle a chuckle at the idea. The student was quick to defend herself.

“True, but I’ll be graduating soon, and I’m already an adult, so-”

Iida was the one to interrupt her this time, side-stepping slightly to put himself behind you, arms raising in a robotic defense of himself as Jessica stepped forward. “Sounds like you’ll be well-prepared for college then. Good luck with your studies!”

“Jessica!” The call came from the woman at the front desk. “That contract needs to be brought upstairs.”

The girl in front of you looked down to the paperwork in her hands as if remembering the reason she’d been standing in front of the elevator to begin with. “Right.” The irritation was clear on her face as she stepped in through the doors and pressed the button for the top floor.

You and Iida managed to slip out, though not before Jessica made a comment about “being back soon” which she shot at the man with a wink.

When you turned to look up at him, you found Iida looking absolutely mortified at the situation. “Iida…” a pang of pity went through your chest, and you reached for him, stopping before you could actually touch him so that you wouldn’t embarrass him any further. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…fine.” He was so visibly tense, arms kept stiffly at his sides, jaw set as his teeth ground together. Even his posture was more rigid than ever, and all you wanted to do was make him comfortable again.

“I’m going to have a conversation with Mark,” you tried to reassure him. “That behavior is unacceptable and-”

“Oh, no need. I’m already writing an email.”

You smiled at the woman who’d so often been your saving grace since you’d started at this agency. “Fatima, you’re the best.”

“Sweetheart, don’t you even worry about it. I saw the way she lit up when he came in the door with Mark this morning, I just knew that spelled trouble.” She directed her attention toward Iida. “You okay, Mister?”

“Yes, I’m alright, just shaken, I believe.”

“Well, best believe that stops now or she won’t work here much longer. She can get an internship anywhere; it doesn’t need to be this agency if she can’t control herself.” The woman sighed to herself as she shook her head. “I don’t usually have to deal with that because we aren’t a top twenty agency. You’re one of the most famous heroes we’ve had in a long time. But anyway,” the woman directed her attention back up to the pair of you. “What is it that you actually came down here for?”

“Security badges,” you answered, gesturing toward Iida and happy for the change in topic. “And lunch.”

Iida, seemingly just as grateful for the new conversation as you, chimed in with, “Yes, I’m told the café has excellent options.”

Fatima smiled as she began typing on her computer. “Yes, Chef is very talented. Here, honey, this is your clearance badge.” She set a white card with an attached lanyard on the upper section of the counter for him. “This will get you in through the front door and let you use the elevator without an escort, but your office will be a code lock, and here are the instructions for setting that,” she said, passing a half sheet of paper across the counter. “Obviously, that comes with the obligatory forewarning not to share the code with anyone you wouldn’t want to have unrestricted access to your space.”

“Understood, thank you.” Iida gave a slight bow as he took the items. “And I appreciate your assistance earlier as well.”

“Happy to help. Now go get lunch before it gets crowded in there.”

You gave your thanks to Fatima with a smile and a wave before stepping away, turning toward Iida to ensure he was following. After the two of you had chosen the food you wanted, Iida stopped and looked around.

“What’s wrong?”

The confusion on his face when Iida turned to you had you stifling a giggle as he asked, “Where do we pay?”

“We don’t; our meals are covered by the agency.”

The soft smile you gave him and the glint of amusement in your eye when you answered made Tenya’s heart skip a beat. “O-Oh. Um… That’s very,” he cleared his throat of the lump that came from staring at you before he could continue, “That is a wonderful amenity for an agency to provide. I should talk to my brother about-”

When Iida’s sentence cut off, you followed his gaze and saw Jessica walk into the café and a hum of understanding left your chest as you felt him tense up next to you. “Iida,” you called for him softly, carefully placing a hand on his arm so as not to spook him, “Did you want to eat in my office? It’s probably going to get loud in here when the rest of the staff breaks for lunch, it might be difficult for us to catch up.”

“Yes, let’s.”

It was once the girl was in line for food that she noticed you and Iida. “Ingenium! Wait!”

You gave only a polite wave as the two of you walked from the room, barely catching the scowl that crossed her face as she made eye contact with you. “Why don’t you see if your shiny new credentials work?” you asked the man by your side. “Scan it there,” you said, nodding to the sensor pad above the elevator buttons.

When Iida held the card to the sensor, the buttons for the elevator lit up, and after a moment the doors opened. “After you.” Tenya wanted nothing more in this moment than for you to touch him again, but he couldn’t bring himself to reach for you. “Thank you,” he decided to start with instead. “I’ve seen other heroes deal with fans of that…intensity. I never have; it was off-putting, to say the least. So, thank you, for helping me handle it.”

Your cheeks lifted slightly in reaction to his sentiment. “What else is a support professional for?” you joked.

Tenya knew you didn’t mean anything by your phrasing, but it stung for some reason; you referring to your relationship to him so formally. It bothered him the same way it had been bothering him that you wouldn’t call him by his name.

The pair of you walked down the hall toward his office, stopping one door short, and you tapped in the code. It was only after you’d walked in and the lights clicked on that you realized the only place to sit was your own desk chair. “Oh, just a minute, I’ll be right back.” You set your take-away container on your desk before rushing back through the door to retrieve another chair from the lounge down the hall.

While you were gone, Tenya looked around. Your office was well organized, with display boxes mounted on the walls showcasing prototypes and patents of inventions you’d been responsible for. He recognized that each of them appeared to be older versions of some technology currently in use and made a mental note to ask about that. The next place his gaze was drawn toward was your desk. There he found your desktop, completely powered down, which given your earlier sentiment of hardly spending time in the room, made sense; a placard displaying your name and title; supplies like notepads and a mug full of pens; and photos.

He recognized you and your grandparents in one of them, a couple he assumed to be your parents in another, and one of the two of you that he had never seen before. It was clearly from your graduation day; Tenya recognized the clothing each of you was wearing, but it wasn’t one of the posed photos the two of you had taken together.

“Tenya!”

You’d yelled his name with such glee when you’d seen him coming, and the sound still rang clear as a bell in Tenya’s mind. He had run as fast as he could without his quirk to find you after he’d checked in and taken photos with his family and other friends from his class. He remembered how you ran to meet him, and how you’d jumped into his arms the moment he was close enough. Tenya didn’t realize anyone had taken a picture of the moment; the two of you, frozen in the frame with his arms wrapped around your waist as he stared up at you, your feet kicked up behind you and your hands on his shoulders, staring down at him. The pair of you looked so happy. Smiling mouths half open as you spoke to each other, unaware of the camera trained on you, Tenya realized he looked downright elated to have you there in his arms.

“We did it! Ugh, I’m so fucking proud of you!”

The small beep of your door’s keypad in use brought Tenya’s mind back to the present. He made no attempt to set the picture frame back down, knowing it was far too late to not be caught, and all it would do was fluster him further. His acceptance of his situation did not, however, diminish the blush that crept up his face and neck when you stepped back into the room.

When your eyes locked with Iida’s over the back of the chair you were carrying, you saw him standing behind your desk, holding a picture frame, and by the look on his face, you knew exactly which one it was. “My grandmother took that,” you explained, setting the chair down in front of your desk before joining Iida on the other side. “It’s my favorite photo from graduation.”

Tenya couldn’t help the pang of bitterness in his chest at the thought that this probably would have been his favorite too, had he known it existed. “Why didn’t you share it with me?”

His frown was a spear in your heart. “I didn’t know about it until she filled up the card and needed help getting them printed almost three years later.” A sadness wilted your voice when you added, “We weren’t really talking anymore.”

He knew that was his fault. You’d tried so hard to keep in contact with him, but becoming a great pro hero had been his one and only focus after high school, and taking as many assignments and trainings as possible meant that he’d barely had time to sleep, let alone check his phone. Your voice messages started as weekly reminders to call when he had time, to then being the place you gave your life updates because you “understood that he was busy,” to then being tired and sporadic requests to “catch up sometime,” until you stopped calling altogether. Tenya still had one buried in the bottom of his voicemail box that said you missed his voice. He’d never been able to bring himself to delete it.

“I’m sorry.” Nearly overwhelming emotion was choked back as he apologized.

“No, hey,” you shook your head, leaning into his space for a moment to shoulder his arm as you spoke. “It happens. It’s okay. Do you want to eat?” you asked, trying to redirect the conversation.

Tenya should have known you weren’t going to let him take the blame, even when he should. He carefully set the frame back down and nodded once, “Yes.”

Iida took the seat across from you as you sat in your regular chair behind the desk. The two of you ate your food and got caught up on each other’s lives, at least as much as you were able within a single meal. He told you about working as a pro; being a sidekick for a time, before becoming a hero all his own and climbing the ranks, carrying his brother’s mantle all the while. You told him about going to school for design and engineering before getting a job as professional support. You skipped over the other half of your job and the trainings you’d endured to develop those skills. Being an Undercover meant no one knew except Mark Williams and a select few others that shared your title. You did choose to mention the trips you would take every other month or so to “consult” on a design project with other agencies.

“Do you ever engage with field support?” he questioned, his hand making a smaller version of the chopping motion you recognized from high school. “I recall you being incredibly adept in active situations. Or simulations of them anyway.”

You laughed. “Iida, the only time you ever saw me in a field environment was the project your entire class failed because of me.”

“Right, because we were not prepared for battle against someone with such expertise!”

The conversation devolved into easy laughter for a few moments before you looked down and realized you’d both been done eating for a while. “Would you like to see my lab?”

Iida’s eyes lit up. “I would love to!”

The smile from your laughter still had not faded as you stood, tossing your container in the trash before heading to the door. A moment later, you felt Iida stepping up behind you, so you exited your office, careful to make sure the lock clicked to engage, before leading Iida back toward the elevators. “The design labs are all on the third floor,” you told him as the elevator descended. It was once you were on the floor, stepping out of the elevator with Iida right behind you, that you felt the internal push to show off a little bit. “The entire level is reenforced with an additional three feet of steel-barred concrete and affixed with steel blast doors and bulletproof windows. We have state of the art fire suppression and oxygen recycling systems, and the latest and greatest, constantly updating, holographic interface systems.” You tapped a couple buttons on your control console to bring up the blueprints of the building, then used the interface to single out the third floor, zooming in to show the man in front of you. “The whole floor acts as our emergency shelter. If anything happened in or around the rest of the building, the third floor and everyone in it would be perfectly fine, even in the event of a collapse.”

“This is… incredibly impressive.” Iida’s eyes were wide as he looked over the hologram in front of him. “May I?” he asked, hand drifting up to interact with the blueprint.

“Of course.” You could only sit back and smile as you watched him poke around with an intense curiosity. He’d done the same thing starting in your second year at UA when you’d invited him to the labs after school to show him a project you were working on at the time. It was only a small support device for a first-year hero student, an arm band to monitor blood toxicity, if you recalled correctly, but Iida had looked at it like he’d never seen something so amazing. He’d asked you to make something for him too before immediately backtracking.

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to assume you feel any obligation to fulfill my requests.”

He’d sputtered and blushed in the moment, and you’d found it endearing. The way your heart swelled at the look on his face when you told him that you’d be happy to make something for him was how you’d first realized your crush. And now, as he looked over the blueprint in front of him, there was a glimmer in eyes, only a reflection from the light, but you could swear it was that same sense of wonder.

“The designer must be deeply proud of this.”

“Thank you, I am,” you replied with a smirk of satisfaction, one eyebrow raised expectantly.

“You did this?” Iida asked, looking up to you, eyes still wide.

“Mhmm.” Your hum of affirmation was accompanied by a nod, smirk still firmly in place.

It was with genuine awe when Iida said, “You are astonishing.”

You’d never felt your cheeks heat up so fast in your life; surprise replacing satisfaction on your face. The two of you only stared at one another for a moment, frozen, before you heard the ding of the elevator around the corner and your name called out. You managed to regain your composure just as Jefferson stepped up beside you, clapping a hand onto your shoulder.

“Tink, hey! I came looking for you down here before lunch, but you weren’t around.” The man was, as usual, all smiles as he spoke.

“Hey, Jeff,” you did your best to return the expression as you turned slightly to be able to see him better. “I was out giving a tour. Jefferson, this is Tenya Iida, hero name: Ingenium. He’s our transfer from Japan that arrived this morning. Iida, this is Jefferson Calloway, hero name: Guardian.” You directed the second half of the introductions toward Iida. “Jeff has been here almost as long as I have, so-”

“Only because I had to wait for the building to be finished before I was officially on the payroll,” he said, moving forward to offer Iida a hand to shake. “It’s good to meet you, man. The respectful thing is to call you by your last name unless we’re close, right? So, Iida.”

The other man accepted the gesture and confirmed, “Yes, please call me Iida. It’s nice to meet you, Jefferson.”

“No, man, just Jeff is good for me. Call me Jefferson to my face, I’m gonna think I’m in trouble.” He laughed at his own joke, to which you could only shake your head slightly. He told that same joke to everyone he met. “What’s your quirk?” he asked with a nod toward Iida, adjusting so his forearm rested on your shoulder rather than his hand. You made no attempt to brush him off, knowing any effort you made would be entirely useless.

Tenya bristled internally as he watched how this other man interacted with you. You were familiar enough to be using nicknames and to share personal space, but he knew it would be incredibly rude to let any of the feeling slip into his expression. Instead, he kept his face schooled into a polite, albeit ingenuine, smile. “I have engines in my legs that afford me great speed. Yours?”

“It’s called ‘Immovable,’” Jefferson began to explain. “Basically, my body won’t move unless I’m the one moving it, even on a cellular level, so I use it more like invulnerability.” He shrugged, finally removing his arm from your shoulder.

“Just because you haven’t found something that can get under your skin yet doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” you chided. “You need to be more careful or-”

“Woah! Okay, well that’s what I have you for, isn’t it?” He asked, bending down slightly to get in your space.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes, hitting his chest with an open palm in an unsuccessful shove, simply to punctuate your point. “It is not my job to clean up after you, and we both know I wouldn’t be able to peel your ass off the sidewalk anyway.” You stepped away from him and back to your control console to bring up the project you’d finished this morning. “You come here for these?”

Tenya was just as interested in this model as he was in the previous one, though his brow furrowed as he did his best to piece together what it was. You seemed to be able to read his mind because a moment later, without having to ask for an explanation, you told him what it was.

“It’s a new head for the rope dart he uses. More weight, stronger metal, more aerodynamic than the last ones. You, however,” you turned on Jefferson with a fire in your eyes, “need to stop smashing them. I am running out of ideas to make them more durable. It might be time to accept that fact that your weapon probably isn’t ever going to be as tough as you.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll play nicer. I was just coming to see the design, you said you’d start fabricating them once I cleared it.” Jefferson manipulated the hologram to zoom in and examine the shape and ridges in the dart. “I like it.”

It took Tenya aback how easily the other man took control of the program, but he supposed that would come to him as well with time. Your laugh of disbelief caught his attention.

“I’m not producing these in-house for you. I don’t have the tools, or frankly, the skill. I’m sending the design out to a smith, and you’ll have them shortly after they get sent back to me.” You hit the control panel again to stop projecting the dart, the space now empty of any hologram. “If you’re sure you like it, I’ll put in the order.”

“They’re great. You’re the best, Tinkerbell!”

You felt Jefferson reaching for you despite your back being turned, so you ducked under the hand that was reaching to pat your head and took a few steps back. “Bye, Jeff,” you called, shaking your head as the man walked away.

“Later!”

You turned to face Iida again. “So now is as good a time as any to let you know that if you need something, just let me know. You’ll still have to fill out all the formal paperwork and everything, but I have no problem getting started on stuff for you before that as long as you tell me what you’re looking for.”

“That is good to know, thank you.” Tenya hoped it wasn’t too obvious how much his mood lightened once Jefferson had left the room. This was a day meant for meeting new people after all, and yet, he couldn’t help but want to only be near you. Still, he figured he should at least be polite regarding his new coworkers, and if a little prodding would also help to answer some of his more personal questions, then so be it. “Jefferson seems nice,” is what he chose to start with.

“Yeah, he’s a good guy, even if he is a little hard-headed sometimes.” You gave a small shrug and a sigh, “But what are you going to do? Pro heroes have a tendency to be that way no matter where they come from.”

Tenya did not fail to notice the glint of mischief in your eye at that. “Just what are you implying with that?”

You chuckled. “That you’re incredibly stubborn. I don’t know anyone that dedicates themselves to things like you do.” There was admiration in your tone alongside the humor as you poked fun at him. “It’s impressive. But it also gets you into situations like the one in first year, where-”

“Alright,” he interrupted, clearing his throat. “I don’t think we need a reminder like that right now.”

His embarrassed reaction made you snicker. “Sorry,” you withdrew with your hands up in surrender and a small smile on your face. “Did you ever end up telling anyone about all of that?”

Iida shook his head. “You’re the only person I told that wasn’t already there.”

“Aww.” An upside-down smile crossed your features at the notion. “Way to make a girl feel special.”

Tenya’s face flushed for an entirely new reason, and he found himself scrambling for a change in topic. “So, you and Jefferson seem… close.” He could only hope the true intention behind the question wasn’t obvious, but based on the squinted look you gave in response, you caught it anyway.

“Yeah, we were pretty fast friends after the agency opened.” You thought it interesting Iida had brought the other man up twice now, especially since he was clearly asking after your relationship with him. But thinking too far into it wasn’t something you could afford to do if you wanted to be able to get anything done for the rest of the day, or the rest of Iida’s contract with the agency, so instead of investigating, you gave more context to your answer. “He was still pretty new to the business, didn’t have all of his gear figured out yet, so he spent a lot of time in here asking for things.”

“And he called you Tinkerbell?” Iida questioned; head tilted slightly to the side.

You shrugged. “She’s an old cartoon character that builds things. He’s been calling me that for years.”

“Ah.” Tenya once again found himself trying, and failing, to not be bothered. You were clearly comfortable with informalities, with being friendly and close to people you worked with, and yet you seemed to be keeping him at arm’s distance. But wasn’t he more than that to you? Or at least, he used to be.

“Iida?” you asked, noticing his deflation, and he flinched. “What’s wrong?”

He took a moment to consider. It had been nearly a decade; you had no obligation to familiarity, let alone fondness, and yet, “I’d like you to call me by my given name, if you’re comfortable.” He bowed his head and pushed his glasses up, refusing to make eye contact with you, fearing rejection as the silence stretched longer. “I understand that as adults we could be considered no more than strangers, but I still-” he cut himself off and cleared his throat, straightening his posture but keeping his eyes low as he spoke again, “I would prefer not to start over, and by the conversation we’ve conducted today, I have hope it won’t be necessary.”

You could only stare for a moment as a soft, endearing smile sprouted on your face while emotion surged in your chest. The man in front of you was your best friend once, and there was a great relief in knowing he didn’t want to remain in cold formality. When you’d swallowed the catch in your throat down enough that you didn’t fear your voice cracking, you rolled your eyes good-naturedly and gave a click of your tongue. “And here I was,” you started, sarcasm laced in your tone, “all worried I was going to have to spend another eight months pulling you out of a shell.”

The man’s head shot up, hope swelling in his eyes, “So, you-”

“Tenya, it would make me very happy for us to be close again.”

Tenya fought the smile that threatened to split his face, trying not to seem too eager. “Thank you, that’s uh, I’m glad.”

“Me too.” You only allowed yourself to sit in the warm moment for a few seconds before shifting the focus back to work. “Are you sure you don’t need anything? I saw reports you’ve almost reached Mach 4.”

“Very nearly,” he replied, a small prideful smirk graced his lips. “My armor does well protecting me from the negative effects that come with moving at that speed, and I made sure it was in its top condition before leaving to come here. I didn’t know I’d have someone I trust to help me look after it.”

You gave a small shrug. “Well, you let me know if that changes, yes?”

“Yes ma’am.” Tenya’s heart skipped at the way you laughed at his response. His thoughts drifted to the navy blue box that sat on his dresser back home and the watch inside that had died several years ago. He knew his parents would have chastised him for unnecessary clutter, particularly because the piece no longer even worked, but he could never bring himself to get rid of it. The sentimental value of the gift had far outweighed any inconvenience of keeping it around. “Actually-”

The phone rang.

You held up a single finger and shot Iida an apologetic smile as you answered. You recognized the ringtone, you knew who it was. “Mark, you’re on speakerphone, Ingenium is in the room.”

“I need to see you in my office, a new assignment came through.”

“Design, or-”

“It’s a consult. Details to follow.”

The line clicked and you looked up to Iida, schooling your features to cover the grimace that automatically pinched your face at Mark’s words. You’d only been home from the last one for a week. “Duty calls. Can I walk you back upstairs?”

He nodded. “I think it would be a responsible use of my time to settle into my office, choose a code for the door, even.”

You laughed again and rounded the corner to return to the elevator and summoned it. On the ride back up, you explained to your companion the floors of the building you’d yet to visit with him. “The basement is two parking levels, the only part of the first floor we didn’t see was the visitor center, second floor is a training center, and records and storage. You’ve seen the work of art that is the support floor,” you made a small flourish with your hand to emphasize the drama of your statement. “The fourth floor houses all of our standard office staff, people that handle paperwork, budgeting, our call center, all of it; and then the fifth floor is almost entirely private offices for department heads like me, and Pros like you.” You nudged him slightly in the side with your elbow, as though it was some secret you were both in on.

Tenya leaned into the brief contact despite himself but was quick to fix his posture as soon as the doors slid open. Once you’d stepped out of the enclosed space, the two of you walked side-by-side for only a few moments before you stopped in front of the door labeled, M. Williams.’

“I don’t know how long this meeting will take,” you reasoned, “So in case you’re gone by the time I’m done: I hope you have a good night, and I will see you tomorrow, okay?” Just as he inhaled to respond you remembered, “Oh! And if you need something, find Jefferson. He’s normally part of the welcome team, so he’s probably better suited than I am to actually help you find whatever you’re looking for. And Fatima has taken a liking to you, so she can also answer any questions you might have.”

“Thank you, Y/n. I am grateful for all of your help.” He stood, lingering, trying to determine what was appropriate in terms of ‘goodbyes’ in that moment.

“Of course.” You reached forward and placed your hand on his forearm, squeezing slightly as you continued, “I’m always happy to help you, you know that.” When you withdrew your hand you could have sworn you saw a furrow cross Iida’s brow, but you continued anyway with a nod of your head to the door behind you. “I gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

Tenya waited until you were inside your boss’s office with the door closed before he continued down the hall to his own office. He was happy that you’d accepted his request to call him by his name, but actually hearing it? He’d nearly melted. Tenya had barely been able to keep his emotions in check when he was 18 and taking you to the airport, resigned in many ways to the idea of losing you forever, and now that you were in his life again, he felt it all come flooding back. What he couldn’t decide, however, was whether this was the universe giving him a chance to correct the mistakes of his youth, or if this was some twisted test of his resolve.

You only allowed yourself a single breath after entering Mark’s office before approaching his desk and sitting down across from him.

He dropped a familiar file onto his desk, a grim expression on his face. “It’s Ontario.”

“I was just there.”

Mark was undeterred by your dead-eyed stare. “They’re requesting you back. They found the brother.”

“So, what, they want me to take them out one at a time?” You scoffed. “Look, I’m happy to go back and finish the job when there’s a job to finish, but there’s no damn reason for me to do this if there’s only one viable target.” Mark slid you the case file, now open to a new set of pages detailing the life and routine of the right hand of the mob boss you’d just taken down, the man’s brother. “Do you understand how much more of a guard this guy is going to have than his brother did? Now that they know there are Pros tracking them down, it’s going to be damn near impossible to get a shot on this asshole.”

“That’s why they’re asking for you.” Rather than acknowledge your scoff, Mark began to read the file. “Donnie Sullivan, the older, albeit dumber, brother to the late great Victor Sullivan. He’s arrogant and convinced that he’s better off than his brother because he’s bigger, stronger. But he can’t keep a lid on his plans to save his life, as evidenced by the fact we now have a contract on him.” He looked to you with something akin to an amused hope in his eyes and was promptly shut down by your scowl. “Not the time for jokes, got it. Anyway. The agency in Ontario thinks that now is the time to get him, because if we wait until there’s a bigger target, he could have done irreparable damage in the city or gotten wise and gone into hiding. We’d really be fucked if it was both. So, they want you now.”

“And there isn’t a single UC on the continent with a perfect aim quirk they can call?”

“You already know the case.”

“But I also just got back, so-”

“Y/n, it’s not optional! You’re going. And you’re leaving first thing tomorrow, so after we’re done in here, you need to wrap up with whatever else you need to take care of today.” You were visibly displeased, but made no further comment, so he took it as a go-ahead. “So, we need to have a conversation about what’s changed.”

It was almost two in the morning by the time you were actually ready to be leaving for the day. You’d assigned projects to each of the people in your department to begin working on when their current projects were completed, which meant no one’s productivity levels would be horribly stunted by your absence. You’d also made sure that all paperwork for your current projects (like Jefferson’s dart heads) was sent out so that they wouldn’t be delayed, and would, ideally, be ready for you by the time you got back. The only thing that bothered you about that was that if the delivery was made prior to your return, then Jefferson would simply have to wait until you got back before having access to the new weapons, as you still needed to fit them before he could use them in combat.

You also couldn’t help the pull toward bitterness as you considered that Tenya would be here, and you wouldn’t. You finally had one of the closest friends of your lifetime back after years away, and you hadn’t even gotten a full twenty-four hours with him before you were being called away. It was frustrating to say the least. A sudden shout of your name pulled you out of your thoughts as you walked down the hallway.     

“Y/n!” Bender skidded to a stop in front of you, and you came face to face to Tenya’s visage for a moment before they could shake it away. “Woah! Was that Ingenium? Hang on let me see if I can get it back.” Bender’s gaze was intently focused on you for a moment before Iida appeared in front of you again. “Is he a teenager in this? Did you know him when you were this old? Hang on-”

“Bender!” You nearly shouted their name to catch the young hero’s attention, and they shook their head for a moment before looking back up at you with their own eyes. “I thought I asked you not to get in my head.”

“Sorry, Y/n, you know how it works. The stronger the memory, the more it jumps out at me.” They gave a noncommittal shrug. “So, did you know him before?”

You only sighed, unable to stay frustrated with them for long. Bender’s heart was always in a good place. “Yes, Ingenium and I went to high school together in Japan.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that! That’s so cool! That’s not why I came down here though.” They seemed to be trying to focus for a moment, tapping their fingers together as they tried to recall the reason for catching your attention in the first place. “Right! Mark said you’re going out again?”

“Yeah, I leave in a few hours,” you admitted with a roll of your eyes. “I had to stay late to finish up some stuff so the building doesn’t catch fire while I’m gone.”

“Oh, come on,” they dragged out the words as though it would help convince you that, “You know I wouldn’t let that happen. At least not while you’re away.” Bender’s thousand-watt smile only stayed for a moment before their entire demeanor dropped. “We normally switch off on missions, unless they’re quirk specific right? But you’re getting sent out again and so soon, so I guess I just wanted to make sure you’re okay but also…” they paused, seemingly ashamed as their sulking posture sank further. “Mark isn’t getting rid of me, is he?”

“No, Bend,” the reassurance came out of you so fast you found yourself shocked, your protective side taking over when you saw the hurt in their eyes. “You aren’t going anywhere. The only reason I’m being sent out again is that it’s a repeat client, and it counts more as a job extension than a new case. Besides,” you reasoned, “I asked not to go, and Mark told me I had to, so believe me, if I’d have had a choice, it would be you. You’ll get another one soon, and in the meantime, I just need you to keep an eye on things around here for me. Cool?”

“Anything specific, boss?” they asked, happy to feel useful in being given a task.

“Yeah, would you watch for when Jeff’s darts come in? If I’m not back yet, I’d really appreciate if you’d drop them in my office so no one else goes tinkering with them.”

“Sure, I can take care of that. Is the code still the same?”

You nodded and gave an affirmative, “Yep.”

“Awesome. You can count on me!”

“Thanks Bender,” you called after them as they half-jogged down the hall to continue whatever they’d been doing before your presence had interrupted their thoughts.

It didn’t matter that the elevator ride was only a few seconds. You could feel the way the silence pressed into you, the need for sleep, or caffeine, probably both, seeping into your bones. Getting down to the lobby brought the smiling face of Fatima, sitting quietly at the desk.

“Finally getting to head out for the day?” She asked, cocking her head slightly to the side as though confused she was seeing you at all.

“Yeah, but just to shower and pack. I’ll be back in a few hours; Mark is sending me out for a consult.”

“Oh, but sweetheart, didn’t you just get back from one of those?” A look of concern crossed over the woman’s face. It was when you’d returned from the last trip that she’d voiced her worries about you being overworked, running support at this agency and consulting elsewhere.

“Yeah, I tried to remind him of that, but here we are,” you sighed through the sentiment. You were tired. You wanted to take some time off, from both jobs, but certainly the world would end if you did.

She could see the weight on your shoulders and recalled the way you’d smiled when you’d been with the new hero earlier in the day. “But what about that nice man that started today, Ingenium?”

A small smile crept over your face despite your fatigue, and you looked to her before asking, “I was hoping he could come to you if he needed something while I’m gone?” You saw her nod, and a new thought occurred to you. “And actually, can I get a pen and paper from you?” You took a moment to write down your phone number, and your name so he’d know who it belonged to. “Would you give him this tomorrow? I didn’t get a chance today.”

“Of course.”