Hero & Villain

Falcon | 1490w

   I already regret teaming up with Macer, and all he's done is dry himself off with his stupid fire powers. I don't know what happened earlier, but I could feel the heat radiating off of him and he didn't seem to be enjoying it. So naturally, I took the opportunity given to me and dumped a bucketful of the coldest water I could find over him. If only I had two buckets. And a lot of ice.

   I turn away from him and stride to the desk on the opposite wall. I unceremoniously plunk into the chair, grabbing the desk to roll myself forward. I turn on the computer, and get to work searching for the last place the kid was seen. To my surprise, I find nothing.

   Macer stands behind me, one hand resting on the back of the chair. "Find anything?" He asks, his voice still rough.

   Without thinking, I spin my chair around to look at him. That leaves him standing over me with a hand still braced on the back of the chair, and an amused expression on his face. I blame the heat rising to my cheeks on how close together we are. Obviously he's hotter as Macer and it's warming up my face.

   His amused expression morphs into a smirk and he looks like he wants to say something, but before he can I stand up and slip under his arm. "There's nothing," I mutter, stalking to the door.

   I can physically feel him rolling his eyes as he hurries to follow me. "What do you mean 'nothing'?" He demands. "How's that possible?"

   I slam the door open and ignore all the police officers as I march straight outside. "I don't know," I growl angrily. "Somebody must have wiped all the data concerning the kid. As far as I could find, they don't even exist."

   As soon as we're on the sidewalk I shake out my arms and ruffle my still-furled wings in preparation. I hate taking off from the ground; my wings need more space to be able to lift me properly, and straining them just to take off from here is often a bit painful.

   Macer is looking at me funny from a few feet away as he watches me breathe deeply, preparing myself for the inevitable discomfort. "I hate taking off from the ground," I explain when he raises an eyebrow.

   I take another deep breath and close my eyes for a moment... only for the breath to be abruptly forced out of me.

   I can't help the small shriek that escapes me when Macer's arms snake their way under my thighs and he launches into the air. Damn his heat powers, my face feels hot enough to melt as I'm forced to wrap my legs around his waist, my hands clutching the back of his shirt.

   "What are you doing? Put me down!" I demand. The way I'm pressed into his shirt muffles it and makes it sound much less commanding than I would have liked.

   All I get in reply is a low chuckle, and a slight tightening of his arms around my thighs. I groan slightly into his chest, a feeling of dread in my stomach. Flying is great, when it's me flying myself. I've gotten pretty good at trusting myself not to drop me, and trusting that my wings are always strong enough to catch me if I do. Flying is like...

   I don't know. Why am I thinking about flying?

   It takes me a bit to realize I'm molded against someone, and they're keeping me from falling about 60 stories. I snap my jaw shut and grip onto them with bruising strength.

   "Please don't drop me, please please please!" I beg, feeling the rushing air slow and then stop as I do.

   There's an incredulous laugh, and I instantly realize it's Lance who I'm holding onto for dear life. "Calen, I didn't expect to talk to you today," he says, and it takes me a tense moment to realize he's teasing me.

   "The feeling is mutual," I groan, trying to ignore my growing queasiness. I really don't feel like jumping again just to be Falcon, but after trying desperately to change back for a full minute of awkward silence I'm forced to admit I'll have to. I loosen my grip on Lance enough to ease away from my hiding place against his chest.

   Peaking around his arm I groan again at the dizzying height we're suspended in. I let my forehead drop back onto his shoulder, mentally steeling myself. I don't know how I ended up with him or what I'm doing in his arms way up in the air, but I don't need to know.

   Quickly so that I don't lose my nerve, I unwrap my arms and let my legs dangle at his sides. He lets out a shocked huff, and when I lean back enough to see his face his eyes are wide. I'm surprised to see him in civilian clothes, but I can't pay attention to that when his expression is showing genuine fear and his grip on my thighs has gotten as bruising as my grip on him was before.

   "Calen what the hell!" He exclaims, his whole body tilting back until I'm practically just sitting on his lap. "Why the hell did you let go?" He demands, the fear on his face mixing with anger.

   I contemplate hitting him until he drops me, then decide against it. No need to make him even angrier at Falcon than he already seems. "Because I need to fall," I explain, kicking my legs impatiently and folding my arms.

   His eyebrows furrow for a moment, then smooth out as horror overtakes his features. "You left yourself a note and you said something about jumping... did you...?"

   I wince a little, absently bringing a hand up to rub my neck. "Oh... uh... that. Yeah, it's kinda... the only way I can make myself change sometimes," I blurt out sheepishly, watching as understanding dawns in his eyes.

   "You-" he starts harshly, then clenches his jaw and takes a deep breath. "You jumped off a building, you expect me to be okay with that? And you expect me to drop you?" He asks incredulously.

   I shrug and nod, letting my hands rest on his abdomen as he stews. I start squirming after a minute, trying to make him to let go of me so I can get this over with. All I'm able to get from him is a warning growl, so I huff angrily and sit still again. "Why won't you just drop me! You're obviously annoyed," I mutter the last part under my breath, unable to keep the bitterness out of my voice.

   It feels like nothing has changed between us, even though he kissed me. Maybe he thinks I didn't like it, and doesn't want to force anything on me. I guess I never actually told him I was gay, did I? Wait, is he even gay? Maybe he just kissed me because he's figuring things out and nothing has changed because he decided he's not actually into guys?

   I let myself slump forward until I'm yet again hiding against his chest, but this time my arms are hanging limp. I wonder how many people have seen us. The nearest building is pretty far away, they wouldn't be able to see much detail, and definitely not Lance's face. I wonder if they think we're fighting. Or maybe they think one of us is knocked out? I'll have to check the news later.

   Lance growls again, unprompted this time, and the sound rumbles in my ear that's pressed near his collar bones. "Fine. Fine, okay. But only because I trust you and I'm planning on staying five feet from you the whole time. If you haven't changed by halfway down I'm catching you again," he says sternly.

   I sit up, nodding quickly. "Deal!" To be honest, I'm a little relieved. Falling like a stone with no real guarantee of changing is always insanely scary, so knowing someone will catch me if Falcon doesn't show is... nice.

   "You sound way too eager," he grumbles as he shifts to be vertical again, also shifting one arm around my back to hold me upright.

   I wait for him to let go, but instead he pulls me closer. He rubs his nose through my hair, then I feel his lips press against my temple. "I really don't want to do this you know," he mutters. I hold still as his lips brush along my cheekbone, which now feels very warm.

   After another long sigh from him, he shifts his hands to hold under my thighs, shifting me slightly away from him. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he sounds almost amused.

   I grin, plant a firm kiss right on his lips, and fall for the second time today.