Chapter 62
Chapter 62
“So,” Dan started hesitantly, drumming his fingers against his thigh.
“So…” Abby echoed, bouncing her heel nervously against the floor.
The two of them sat in Dan’s hotel room, side by side at the foot of his bed. They were close enough for their shoulders to brush, the occasional contact serving only to ratchet up the tension between them. Dan struggled to find the words he needed.
“I’m not—” Abby started.
“We should—” Dan began.
They both paused.
Abby brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “What were you saying?”
“No, that’s, um. You can go first,” Dan offered courteously. At least, that’s what he told himself. In reality, he was terrified that he’d mixed up Abby’s signals, and was about to be gently let down. Gibbering incoherently would probably not help him, though; he’d take whatever she had to say like a man.
Abby smiled weakly. “I’m not very experienced at, at this.” She gestured between them, and Dan’s heart skipped a beat. “I’ve never— That is, I haven’t really had a chance to… um.” Her fumbling words and reddening face somehow endeared her even more to Dan. In that moment, his hesitation fell away.
All of his hard work, his studying, his training, it all had a purpose. He wanted to become, if not the best version of himself, at least a version who could look in a mirror with pride. This dithering weakness did not suit that image. Confidence, Daniel. You are what you want to be.
He took Abby by the hand, bringing her rambling to a grinding halt. Her mouth clicked shut with a gulp, as he met her eyes and gave his most charming smile. Dan was, as he often realized, an idiot. He didn’t need any grand speech or flowery words. This was Abby. His closest friend. All she had ever asked from him was honesty.
So that’s what Dan would give her.
“You are my best friend, Abby,” he said softly, pronouncing each word with care. His voice was filled with affection. “You are, quite literally, the most important person in the world to me.”
Abby’s eyes glistened, and her smile was blinding. She sniffled wetly and replied, “Y—you’re really important to me too, Danny.”
Dan gently squeezed her hand. “I think… that we can be more. I want us to be more.”
Abby nodded unconsciously along with his words.
Dan’s back straightened at the motion, his spirits buoyed higher than they’d ever been. “I want to take you on a date.”
“Okay,” she replied instantly. Her eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth, and her cheeks blushed crimson. She buried her face in Dan’s shoulder with a groan. “That was too eager. Was that too eager?”
“I’m not sure you can be too eager,” Dan responded, feeling like he’d just taken a hit of laughing gas. Everything seemed light and floaty and happy.
“You have to pretend I was more composed, when we tell this story in the future,” Abby muttered into his shirt. Despite her embarrassment, she seemed perfectly content to stay latched onto his arm like a limpet.
“Anything for you, Abs,” Dan replied fondly, ruffling her hair.
Abby made a yelping noise, pulling away from Dan with her face resembling a lobster. She jabbed an accusing finger at Dan, loudly proclaiming, “I know what you’re doing! I’m on to your tricks! I’m not so easy to woo, y’know!? You’re gonna have to work really hard!”
Dan did not reply to her babble. He simply stared at her, entranced by her beauty, and thrilled to see this side of her. Abby was effortlessly pretty in every day life, but seeing her so flustered was a rare treat. Dan considered it a sign of trust; she felt safe enough around him to let down her guard and be free with her emotions. He couldn’t help but adore her for that.
“Stop staring at me like that!” Abby squeaked, her blush creeping down past her neck. “You keep your— your bedroom eyes to yourself, mister!”
Dan felt a grin creeping across his face.
“Don’t you dare laugh!” Her imperious demand was undermined by her own wide smile and luminescent blush. She playfully slapped at Dan’s chest, stuttering out, “You save that, that, that flirting for later!”
“Fine, fine,” Dan conceded, easily fending off her clumsy attack. “No flirting, no looking.” He snagged her hand, wrapping it snugly in both of his own. “No touching?”
Abby’s breath fluttered as her eyes locked onto their joined hands. “Maybe a little touching. In private.” She made no effort to free herself.
Dan couldn’t stop smiling if he tried. “There’s a carnival going on this week. I was thinking we could go there—” He blinked. “Wait a minute. How long are you in town for?”
Abby blinked innocently. “I haven’t scheduled a return flight yet.”
Dan stared at her, then sighed. Such were the privileges of the privileged. As a financially stable adult with a planet-sized safety net, Abby was free to indulge herself whenever and however she pleased.
Though Dan was hardly one to talk. He was about to buy a house with the funds he’d earned from delivering spare parts and fried chicken to a cranky old man in space. That wasn’t a situation that most people would experience in their lifetime.
Ignore it and move on, Daniel.
“Right,” he said, recovering his train of thought. “So, the carnival.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been to a carnival,” Abby mused thoughtfully, still clinging to his limb.
“It’ll be great,” Dan assured her. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll have fun, I promise.”
Hopefully.
She returned his gesture with a devious grin. “I always have fun when I’m with you, Danny.”
It was his turn to blush and stammer. “I— I think we should shoot for Friday night, if time isn’t an issue. A carnival sorta loses its effect if there aren’t people around.”
“Aww,” she groaned, leaning herself into him. “That’s two entire days from now! What are we gonna do before then!?”
Dan was going to need to take a shower in the Arctic Ocean after he was done here.
“The same things we always do. We’re basically dating already, we’ve just never put a name on it,” Dan pointed out.
“Nuh uh!” Abby pulled away, jabbing Dan in the sternum with her index finger. “No sir! We have not been dating! Girlfriend Abby is much different from best friend Abby! I expect flowers and chocolate and, and pampering!” Her declaration was punctuated by widened eyes, a pointed finger, and an outrageous pout. Such a demand called for an appropriate reply.
Dan tackled her onto the bed. She squawked as she fell, but quickly regained her bearings. They wrestled briefly, ineffectually in Dan’s case, and Abby had him pinned beneath her in short order. This was nothing new. They sparred regularly, and Dan had restricted his power use ever since Graham had beaten him into the ground. Grappling was fair game, and physical contact was to be expected. This was nothing new.
This was definitely new.
Abby’s hair hung around his head as she loomed over him, with a flushed face and dilated pupils. They were both panting, far more worked up than such a brief fight should have warranted. Her thighs were locked around his waist, with her weight resting on his chest. Her eyes hungrily roamed his face, before locking on his lips. She swallowed heavily, a move mirrored by Daniel, and slowly leaned down.
Something in her jeans vibrated, and they both jolted in place. Abby leapt off Dan like he was on fire, retreating across the room with an embarrassed squeak. Her hand dipped into her back pocket, the motions seeming automatic, and withdrew a cell phone. Dan sat up, watching her as she halfheartedly checked her messages.
Abby slumped. “Nana wants to know if we’ve arrived yet.”
Dan had never hated Margaret before. It was an odd feeling.
“It’s okay,” Abby said, her breaths coming in light gasps. Her voice was apologetic, and her eyes were fixed on Dan’s face. “It’s fine. We, uh— I think we need to cool off.”
Dan would rather things drifted in the other direction, but he nodded anyway. Abby was new at this, and he’d move at her pace. No matter how painful that decision was.
“We could, um,” Dan dug past his hormones and into his memory banks, “talk about real estate? That’s why you came here, yeah?”
“I came here because I wanted to visit you,” Abby replied with a shrug.
Dan took a long, deep breath. “You gotta stop saying stuff like that.”
She grinned wickedly at him, but caught herself. “Sorry. This is really fun.”
Dan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He sat up fully, straightening out his wrinkled clothing. “C’mon,” he said, climbing to his feet. “Let’s go see Maggie. If she’s gonna butt in on our alone time, the least she can do is chaperone.”
They met Margaret in the hotel lobby, beside her little desk at the bank. Honestly, it was a minor miracle that she hadn’t noticed them enter earlier. Good luck for Dan, though. He rather needed that kick in the ass by Graham, to get him into gear. He and Abby would probably still be dancing awkwardly around each other, had that not happened. Instead, they were dancing awkwardly around each other, but also planning a romantic outing, which was a definite improvement.
Dan would have to send Graham Connora fruit basket. He’d more than earned it.
“I sense something different about you two,” Margaret stated blandly, the instant she laid eyes on them.
“Cool it, Obi-Wan,” Dan bantered back to the first sane person he’d met in this dimension.
“We’re dating,” Abby announced at the same time. She bounced happily in place, then paused, furrowing her brow. “Or rather, he’s taking me on a date. We’ve planned a date. We haven’t gone yet.” She tapped a finger on her lip, her voice filled with genuine puzzlement. “Does that mean we’re not dating?”
“I think that’s an entirely different conversation, Abs,” Dan replied with an amused shake of his head.
“Oh.” Abby’s eyes swiveled towards Margaret, and she broke into a wide smile. “Nana!” she cried, skipping forward to throw her arms around the older woman. “How are you!?”
“Oof!” Margaret staggered back a step, wrapping her arms around her boisterous niece. “I’m well, dear, and you seem to be the same.”
Abby pulled away, still beaming. “Sorry, I’m a little high on endorphins right now!”
Margaret raised an eyebrow. “Maybe don’t shout things like that, Abigail sweetheart.”
It was fascinating to observe the different shades of red that Abby’s face could exhibit. Margaret simply chuckled, shaking her head and muttering “Kids these days,” under her breath.
“How long are you staying?” the older lady asked, gracefully changing the subject.
Abby shrugged carelessly, brushing her hair behind her ear. “For a few days, at least. Danny wants to buy a house, and I’m gonna help him out.” She brightened, whipping out her phone. “I even made a list of properties in the area already!”
“You’re finally moving out of the hotel?” Margaret asked, turning to Dan. He nodded, and she patted him on the back with a smile. “Good for you! Our rates are cheap, but it’s still a terrible waste of money long term.” The smile wavered for a moment, as she pursed her lips. “Though, houses within the city aren’t exactly cheap either.”
“I’ve got the money,” Dan assured her. Marcus paid obscenely well, though, admittedly, Dan provided an entirely unique service. He was basically on permanent retainer for the man, an arrangement that suited Dan just fine.
“Well then, what are you looking for?” Margaret inquired, shuffling over to her niece. Abby was furiously scrolling through her cell phone, muttering under her breath.
Dan considered the question, remembering that feeling of detachment he felt upon returning to his old quarters above Neptune. He wanted a place that was his. Somewhere to call his own. Something more than just a small room and a place to lay his head. He wanted…
“A home,” he said simply.
“Yes dearie, I know that,” Margaret replied with an eye-roll, obliterating Dan’s gravitas. “I meant, what kind of home.”
Dan stoically ignored Abby’s giggling, while scrambling to think of specifics. “Somewhere fairly centralized, so I can have guests over. I’d prefer a large yard, or… some kind of room that I can turn into a training space.” A thought occurred to him. He turned to Abby with a eager grin. “Has Margaret ever shown you the Pearson’s secret room!?”
Abby glanced up from her phone, blinking in confusion. “Secret room?”
“That is definitely a secret room,” Abby observed, as the wall beneath the Pearson slid open with a groan. “Neat.”
“It’s amazing!” Dan exclaimed, throwing his arms wide. He’d done a moderate amount of cleaning over the past few days, but quickly gave it up as a bad job. The amount of work it would take to renovate the place was well beyond him.
“It was amazing,” he corrected himself sadly. “Time hasn’t been kind to it.”
Abby ran her finger along the wall. It came away caked in a layer of dust. “I can see that,” she agreed with a bland voice. Her eyes scanned the massive room, pausing briefly on the center stage. “Is this where you spar with that Graham guy?”
“For now.” Dan willed himself onto the old boxing ring, taking up a position in the far corner. He bounced on his heels, slightly, listening as the ancient planks creaked beneath foam padding. He shook his head with a frown. “The place isn’t holding up as well as I’d like, though. It’s just too old.”
Abby approached the stage, leaning down and running her hands over it. “So when you said you want a training space, you meant…?”
“Something like this, yeah,” Dan confirmed. “It doesn’t have to be a secret room”—Though he really wanted one—”but I’d like about as much space.”
Margaret tutted from the entrance. “That’s a silly requirement, Daniel. This is your first house; best to be sensible about it.” She knocked on the sliding wall, producing several echoing clangs. “Nobody builds stuff like this anymore.”
Dan paused, hope filling his chest. “Anymore?”
“Down boy,” Margaret chided sternly. “It was just a brief fad in the seventies, and only for the uber-wealthy besides. You won’t find anything like that for sale, especially not in the city.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit unrealistic, Danny,” Abby agreed with her aunt. “We can look for a place with some space but, uh, I doubt we’ll find anything on this scale.”
“Fine, fine, ruin my fun,” Dan conceded, not really disappointed. It was a long shot anyways.
Though, with his power, he might be able to excavate his own secret room. Hmm.
Questions for later.
Margaret’s clothing beeped, and she pulled out an antique (In form, if not in function) pocket watch from within her voluminous dress. She clicked her tongue as she examined it. “My break is over. I’m heading back up; you kids have fun. Daniel, make sure you close up the room when you leave.”
“Yes ma’am!” Dan saluted.
Abby skipped towards the entrance, wrapping her family member in a tight hug. “Talk to you later, Nan.”
A few more polite words were exchanged, then Margaret left for the lobby, leaving Abby and Dan alone.
The dusty, dank, dark room had to be the least romantic location in existence. They grinned goofily at each other, but managed to stay on subject.
Abby took a seat on one of the many benches scattered across the room, with Dan joining her. They gently bumped shoulders as she scrolled through her phone, walking him through various real estate listings.
“This isn’t going to be a quick process,” Abby concluded, chewing on her lip, “nor a cheap one.”
“I wasn’t expecting it to be.” Dan shrugged.
“Although,” Abby drawled, tapping thoughtfully on her phone’s screen, “there might be a better option for you.” She glanced up to Dan, meeting his curious gaze with a mischievous grin. “How would you like to buy an ex-vigilante’s house?”