Chương 51: R&R Ch. 51 — What are We

Contrary to what both had believed, Rend was nowhere to be found when they returned to the base.

"Well, that isn't creepy at all," Nicholas said, dropping his stuff in the entryway. If it was important, he would grab it later.

"Yeah, I'm ordering pizza. Sound good?" Jasmine asked, moving to the kitchen.

"Works for me," Nicholas nodded as he paused, considering something. He had thought about it during the wave, but there hadn't been time to really consider it before. Jasmine stared at him.

"You have your scheming face on."

"I do not have a scheming face."

"Yes, you do. So what are you scheming?"

"I was wondering if you would want to try dating?" Nicholas asked, figuring he may as well be honest in this situation. Jasmine dropped the phone they used for ordering as she gaped at him. Nicholas waited for her to respond before going on to explain his reasoning. He didn't want to rush this, and he wasn't that fussed either way; it was mostly just an idle thought.

"What? Why?"

"With our souls being hitched together and living together, and fighting side by side constantly, I imagine both of us are going to struggle when it comes to the dating pool. So why not the two of us try?" Nicholas explained. Jasmine was nodding along by the end.

"And what if it doesn't work?"

"Well, if I was falling in love with you but I felt absolutely nothing on your end of our bond, I think that would stop my feelings real fast. If nothing comes of it, it doesn't matter to me. I'll either find my person or I won't. We're supers. If we keep progressing, we'll live for centuries." Nicholas shrugged.

"So would that make us boyfriend and girlfriend if I said yes?" Jasmine mused.

"I was leaning towards we're dating, but leave it at that till a further decision is made." Nicholas admitted.

"Why not? It sounds fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, I've never dated anyone seriously before, so I think it sounds fun to try with someone I'm already comfortable with. Can't get my feelings hurt if I know yours, probably," Jasmine laughed, picking up the phone.

"Well, I have no idea what I'm doing either, not like I dated anyone."

"Well, that's a bit depressing, isn't it?" Jasmine snorted.

"Not really. I was busy trying to get super powers."

"So, what do we do now?" Nicholas pondered long and hard over that question before ultimately hitting upon the answer he thought was best.

"Finish ordering the pizza, I'm starving?"

"I meant about the dating thing."

"No clue. I figured you would need more time to think about it, and I figured both of us would prefer if we weren't limping along when it came to how our souls were doing." Nicholas admitted. Jasmine could acknowledge that.

"Waiting till our souls are better seems good, so are we just going to avoid each other now till the date?"

"Were you planning on avoiding me?"

"No?"

"I'm not planning on avoiding you either, regardless if we're trying out something new. You're still my best friend, so when I have the energy, I definitely want to hang out with you." Nicholas said with a smile. It was at that moment that Jasmine realized he had a really pretty smile, and that was also the moment that she realized she was her own worst enemy.

"Want to do a movie while we wait for Rend to show up or the pizza? Whichever is first?" Nicholas asked, levering himself back to his feet and moving to escape the kitchen.

"Good plan," Jasmine said, trailing behind Nicholas so that the two of them could enjoy the movie. Though that included the discussion about what movie the two of them wanted to watch, there were so many options. Rend had all the streaming services. Though they both had to wonder if they were stolen or not. It wasn't like superheroes had to deal with issues with piracy.

"So should we watch a bad romance movie to know what we shouldn't do?" Jasmine joked.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"No, I only watch good romance movies."

"Watch a lot of them?" Nicholas asked, passing the remote to her. He didn't care what they watched, so if she was an aficionado, she could have at it.

"Not really, but I enjoy romances; they seem a lot simpler than having to do stuff as a superhero. If I screw up my love life, that mostly just impacts me." Jasmine pointed out. Nicholas followed that easily. It was the worry he had with every single word he said. If you can change reality with a word, what are you supposed to do? If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Well now, if we screw up our love lives, it messes with two people, doesn't it?" Nicholas quipped.

"Is it still two lives when our souls are connected, or is it just one really big life?" Jasmine mused. Nicholas tilted his head to the side, thinking. It wasn't a terrible point.

"Do you think Rend is going to be upset that we decided to try dating, especially with how often he had us split up to do different tasks?" Jasmine asked as the opening of the movie played.

"Probably."

"That's all you've got? Boring." Jasmine said, heckling him.

"Okay, well, first he's going to complain that he missed something important when he sees us having ostensibly figured something out." Nicholas said, rolling his eyes.

"For someone who wants to lead a team, isn't it odd that he wants his team members to be really bad at working together?" Jasmine asked. Nicholas tilted his head to the side as he thought about it for a second.

"Not sure he might have decided to focus on individual development because we already had the ability to work as a team?" Nicholas asked, voicing his own theory.

"I just think he doesn't actually like teamwork." Jasmine said. Nicholas thought that was fair, but their conversation died down as they settled in for a movie neither of them recognized. Jasmine halfway through the movie decided to rest her head on Nicholas's.

"This is okay, right?" Nicholas thought it was too early to try something like this, but they were going to try this whole dating thing, and this seemed normal for couples, so there was a good reason to do it. And it wasn't that uncomfortable.

"This is fine," Nicholas said after a second longer to think. As the movie wound on, Nicholas decided that there was nothing romantic going on about Jasmine resting her head against his.

"There's nothing romantic about this going on, is there?" Jasmine asked, laughing.

"Not unless there's something on your end," Nicholas nodded.

"Well, I've learned your hair smells good, and it tastes better than my hair." Jasmine said, nodding. Nicholas had only one question.

"Jasmine, why are you eating my hair?"

"I'm not intentionally eating it, but sometimes hair gets caught in your mouth if you're resting your head on top of someone's!" she defended. Nicholas decided that was a good point and an acceptable defense.

"Well, if you want to keep eating my hair, we can stay like this till the movie is done." Nicholas joked. Mirth radiates through their bond as Jasmine makes mock biting sounds.

"My favorite."

"I'll make sure to get your permission next time I consider shopping for hair products," Nicholas said dryly.

"As is only proper," Jasmine said pompously, causing both of them to dissolve into giggles. It was helpful to unwind like this, but neither of them could relax. They were in pain from soul damage and exhausted from nearly ten days of nonstop fighting, and the simple act of them trying to just hang out and relax nearly knocked the duo out.

The alarm rang, and the duo flopped around like dead fish as they tried to spring into action before remembering their insane leader had decided that the alarm for combat was the same alarm that rang when delivery was ready.

"One day I'm going to stab that man," Nicholas grumbled as they retrieved their food.

"I don't know if blades will work on someone named Rend; he seems pretty good at all of this stabbing stuff," Jasmine pointed out.

"That's a good point. I guess I will just hit him with a hammer," Nicholas said, getting the plates out.

"Do we really need plates if it's just for us?" Jasmine asked, putting the plates away. Nicholas acquiesced, taking the pizza box back with them to resume their movie.

"How is your hammer going?" Nicholas asked quietly. He remembered the cracks in the hammer and armor and the waves of sadness he had felt from her as she surveyed the damage.

"I might be able to fix it, but it's probably better for me to just make a new one." Jasmine said before shoving pizza into her mouth so she doesn't have to explain further.

"We'll fix it." Nicholas decided for them.

"Wait, we're going to fix it?"

"Well, would you rather do it on your own?"

"No, but why should I fix it? Even if I do repair it, it's unlikely to be on the level it should be." Jasmine said not sure why she was talking. More than that, Nicholas was making the decision she wanted to make. She knew that. And because of their bond and the relief she had felt at his words before trying to argue against him, he knew that too.

"Would you rather make something new and retire the current setup or fix it?" Nicholas asked, turning to face her, so they were eye to eye.

"I would fix it; it's my first setup and the first one I ever designed entirely on my own without my grandma forcing herself in to make suggestions." Jasmine admitted. It was stupid. She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't see herself being a hero without that gear.

"Then we're going to fix it, simple as that. I can't have my partner feeling down in the dumps when we could have done something." Nicholas said with a nod of absolute confidence.

"We'll make it better than it ever had been before."

"How are so sure? I'm the one with soul powers, and I'm not that sure," Jasmine accused.

"I figure between us being literal bonded soulmates, you having soul powers, and me having the power to manipulate reality, it's not going to be that bad. Especially if we use our new toys to help." Jasmine could see how her quicksilver would help in the fixing process. She could use it to augment her brain, or use it as super tweezers, or something to help put everything back together. How was the book going to? Jasmine narrowed her eyes.

"You're banned from soul consumption."

"I know, but if I set one of my slots as Playroom you don't think the authority from that isn't going to help us put everything back together?"

"You would use one of them for Playroom?" Jasmine asked voice soft.

"Would I? Probably. Am I? No. Playroom was always the choice, I just haven't had the time to set it up." Nicholas explained. Jasmine was trying not to be too hurt about that; she knew Nicholas was just that way, but they were dating now! Couldn't he have just thrown her a bone!

"So we make sure Playroom is set up in the book and then we try?" Jasmine asked, wanting to form a proper plan.

"First, we're going to heal fully. It sucks, but you and I both know it'll be better for both of us," Nicholas reminded her.

"Who knew being a superhero took so much downtime!" Jasmine complained before snatching up another slice of pizza.

"Don't most instructors at the academy do the job because they're on forced downtime for years, if not decades?" Nicholas pointed out unhelpfully. And Jasmine could acknowledge that. After E-rank supers started aging slower, and with every tier, it got more potent. Gigi Darlene looked like she was in her forties, and she had been alive for centuries. A few weeks of downtime was nothing in comparison.

"We'll also deal with Lupine after we're done fixing your hammer; it's not like they'll mind holding him." Nicholas said. Jasmine kind of wished they wouldn't have to deal with Lupine. She knew what had to be done, but that wasn't the type of hero she wanted to be.

"Don't worry," Nicholas said, putting a hand on her leg.

"I'll be the one to do it." Jasmine wasn't sure which was worse. Her relief. Or his anticipation at killing the traitor.