she's got a way

The team must have had a late night, since the apartment was still empty when Verity woke up. Once her boyfriend had finally introduced her to his friends, she’d taken to spending their late nights at their apartment, only until everyone got home and she could help clean them up.

Verity yawned, stretched, and headed to the kitchen to brew a mug of coffee. She wrinkled her nose as she looked for creamer, finding only an empty fridge and a couple of sugar packets.

Her phone pinged, calling her attention away from the bitterness in the mug. The phone screen displayed a text from Lola:

hey, sorry you waited all night. a lot happened, and we’re hanging around the hospital to make sure everyone’s alright. see you soon < 3

A few minutes and a few tentative sips of coffee later, Verity heard keys jingling in the front door. Her curiosity was piqued, and the alarm bells in her brain went off. She quietly grabbed a knife from the drawer, just in case, and crept towards the living room.

The heavy thump of a bag on the floor told her everything she needed to know.

“Isaa–umph.”

Isaac scooped her up into a bone crushing hug, collapsing onto her and burdening her with nearly his entire body weight. The knife dropped to the floor, thankfully not doing any damage.

Verity stayed silent for a little while, simply rubbing her boyfriend’s back.

After a few minutes, muffled sounds came from the boy slumped over her shoulder.

“What’d you say?”

Isaac moved his head so that she could hear him. “It was really bad tonight.”

“Yeah?”

“So many people got hurt, and I couldn’t help them all.”

Verity thought Isaac may have been crying, but she couldn’t quite tell. “I’m sorry, honey.”

Isaac shifted back and held out his arm. “My arm got busted up, too.”

Verity took his forearm in hand, rolling up his sleeve so she could see the metal. He was right: a good chunk of it was missing, revealing the charred wires inside the mechanism. Immediately, Verity headed for her toolbox.

She ended up sitting in the living room. She was on the couch, with Isaac sitting on the floor next to her and leaning against her legs.

As Verity tinkered around with Isaac’s arm, she could feel his eyes on her. “You need something, hon?”

He shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak, and suddenly Verity knew exactly what he was going to say.

“Are you sure about dating me?”

“You’ve asked me this a thousand times,” Verity said softly.

“But are you–?”

“Yes.” She rummaged around her toolkit, before turned back to look the boy in the eyes. “I’m always sure. Why wouldn’t I be? You’re one of the sweetest people I know. You put so much pressure on yourself to protect everyone at all times, when your job absolutely doesn’t ensure everyone’s safety. And I know“––she held up a hand to stop Isaac’s interruption––”we talked about how dangerous this is. We both chose to start a relationship despite the risks. We both chose to take care of each other through whatever may happen. I want to love you, I’ve made the choice to.”

Isaac’s face was full of some unreadable emotion. He plopped his head down on Verity’s leg. “You’re unbelievable,” he murmured. “I just can’t imagine someone wanting to be in this kind of life.”

Verity could detect a tremble in his voice. She smoothed a hand over his hair. “I think you’d do the exact same thing if our roles were reversed.”

Isaac nodded. “Without a doubt.”

“Alright.” She patted her boyfriend’s arm. “I think you’re done. Test it out.”

Isaac flexed his fingers, trying out the new wiring. “Perfect. Thank you, starlight. I’ve done nothing to deserve you.”

Verity rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re a human. That’s enough to deserve love.”

“I love you, too.” Isaac gave her a quick squeeze before heading to the bathroom to clean up his cuts.