Page 75 of The Not So Super Hero
“Shut up!”Bailey tried to save himself, getting up to spin around and glare at Zane.Except he was nude and Bailey stared in silent appreciation and mild annoyance.“Stop laughing!I...ugh, I’m g-getting a shower!”
Bailey ran to the bathroom with a flush, leaving Zane behind, who tried hiding his smile behind his hand and failing miserably.
Bailey’s shower did little to calm his nerves.Afterwards, he scurried about the apartment like a lost mouse, unsure of the best route to take.Stay in the living room with Zane or retire to his bedroom alone.
Zane found Bailey’s conundrum hilarious.How he kept a straight face while Bailey took a seat, then made an excuse to get up, then returned, was beyond him.Zane didn’t have enough fingers to count the attempts Bailey made to “retrieve a drink” only to return empty-handed.
Should he say something?Yeah, he definitely should.Was he going to?Hell no, this was hilarious.
And so Bailey’s humorous behavior continued.He stumbled and tripped, ran into walls, and eventually ended back up on the couch with a pout and some very sore toes.The evening grew late, so it wouldn’t be odd for him to retire to his bedroom.However, he remained in the living room.
Zane smirked.Perhaps the trouble wasn’t so bad.At least he always got a good show.
Bailey caught Zane’s amused stare.The expression caused Bailey’s lips to purse, eyes to narrow, and teeth to grind.It wasn’t funny that he was mentally panicking!The poor boy was about to explode with embarrassment.He wished he had the guts to ask if they were dating.Wished he could ignore the gnawing fear at the base of his gut; if Zane said no, then what would he do?If Zane said yes, what would he do?It wasn’t like they could have a normal relationship, considering they were hiding out in a bunker waiting for an evil organization to kill them.
All the confusion exhausted Bailey, mentally and physically.He leaned into the couch, letting his head hang off the back while he groaned.
Zane enjoyed the flustered Bailey.The bothered one?Not so much.Zane moved across the couch to close the distance between them.Bailey sat up straight, ready to ask what Zane wanted, except he wasn’t given the time to.Zane caught him in a gentle kiss, his hand coming up to run his fingers through Bailey’s hair.The tension in Bailey’s shoulders left instantly.He melted into the touch like the love struck puppy he was.
When Zane retreated, he gave Bailey the softest smile he’s ever seen and asked, “Something wrong?”
Yes, there was a lot wrong, like how Bailey’s heart screamed so loudly that he couldn’t think.His toes curled.All they did was kiss!Bailey wanted to hit himself, but Zane was kind of leaning against him, which made Bailey press into the arm of the couch.He was pinned.
“Uh, wrong?No, not really...I don’t think so,” Bailey answered.He should have phrased that better because he was officially in trouble.
Zane’s eyebrow raised.“You don’t think so?”
“I mean no, nothing is wrong.”
“I smell bullshit.”
“Did you fart?”
Zane tapped the back of Bailey’s head.“Only I am allowed to start arguments between us.It’s your job to fix it.”
It was Bailey’s turn to flick Zane for that, who snickered at his joke, though it was mostly true.Zane definitely caused more arguments, problems, issues, or whatever between them.
“If you talked to me about your problems, then we wouldn’t have arguments to begin with!”
“Good thing Chris isn’t here.You just gave the impression of being a nagging husband.He would love that.”
“Shut up!It’s your fault!”
“You’re only sounding more like a nagging husband.”
Bailey pursed his lips once more and simply glared at Zane, who continued to smirk.Silence fell between them, but it sure as hell wasn’t tense.In fact, it was almost funny, which made no sense to Bailey, but somehow it was happening.
Zane wasn’t sure how to progress.He had asked if something was wrong because, well; they hadn’t talked for a week because he was having his own issues.It wasn’t on his to do list to go even more time avoiding each other.Approaching the problem that he didn’t know the solution to was hard.Zane wasn’t used to it.He had no idea where to start or what to ask or how to ask without sounding like an ass.
Sighing, he leaned away, which Bailey did not like, but said nothing about.Instead, he watched Zane nervously ruffle his hair, twisting it between his fingers for a moment before dropping his hands into his lap.
After a few moments, Zane worked up the nerve to speak.“I’m not...the best at this.”
“This?”Bailey echoed.
“Asking if something is wrong when I know there is, and then you denying that there isn’t, so I have no idea what to do after that point.”
Bailey couldn’t help it.He laughed so hard his sides hurt because, honestly, there was a snippiness to his tone.A snippiness that Bailey hadn’t heard before and it was simply funny to hear it.No, maybe funny wasn’t the right word…
