Summary: Sutton has a little trouble adjusting to the increase in her powers when she returns from the Prism World. Featuring reassuring (but still adorably cocky) Kenji.
The first fight back after Sutton returns from the Prism World is almost a disaster. She’s still adjusting to the new increase in her powers, so when she goes to throw one of the criminals into the one hurling blocks of ice in her direction, she ends up accidentally sending them flying across the street and slamming into a parked car.
Talos and Minuet look stunned for a second, until Sutton shouts at them to look out as the third criminal lumbers back to his feet. Minuet manages to slow him down, letting Kenji easily deflect the fireballs he shoots at them and stopping them from hitting Minuet.
Talos yells for Sutton to stop him as he forces his way closer, but she hesitates just a second too long, trying to figure out her new strength, and he manages to fight off Minuet’s slowing powers enough to smack Talos into a tree.
“Talos!” Sutton yells, pure adrenaline kicking back in as she sends the sneering criminal barreling into the other two as they struggle to rise.
“I’m fine,” Talos wheezes as he gets up, grimacing.
“I’m sorry,” Sutton says, annoyed at how emotional she’s suddenly getting as her throat tightens.
“Sutton!” Talos says sharply, breaking their superhero names, and she knows he can tell how worried she is.
“I’m fine,” he reassures her, squeezing her hand. “But we can’t stop now.”
Sutton whirls around to see all three criminals finally making it upright, and she narrows her eyes, frowning. Focus, she tells herself sternly.
“You’re right,” she says in Talos’ general direction. “Let’s finish this.”
The three of them finally manage to get back into their usual efficient rhythm, although Sutton accidentally sends one of the criminals into the side of a car again when he makes a snide comment about her being a newbie to having superpowers. The criminals are all lying on the ground, groaning and muttering, when the cops show up. Talos grins, slinging his arm around Sutton’s shoulder as they walk off.
“Another successful fight,” he says cheerfully, tugging Sutton in for a kiss.
His enthusiasm is infectious, and she manages a smile as she kisses him back, even though she’s still frustrated at her inability to harness her powers more quickly.
Minuet shakes her head as she heads for the train, jokingly telling them to get a room and that she’ll see them later. When Sutton takes Talos’ hand so they can fly home, they both hesitate.
“Maybe we should take a cab,” Sutton suggests, her voice wavering slightly. “Until I figure everything out.”
Once they get home, Talos slides back into Kenji, and he frowns at the bruise spreading across his side. “This definitely doesn’t match my wardrobe,” he jokes, looking up when Sutton doesn’t immediately come back with a sarcastic quip.
She’s silent on the couch, her mask dangling between her fingertips. Kenji sinks to his knees in front of her, tilting her chin up.
“Hey,” he says. “It’s over, darling. I’m fine. You’re fine. Minuet’s fine. We got the bad guys.”
He gives her an encouraging playful smile.
Sutton sighs heavily. “I know.”
Kenji leans in, his hands squeezing her knees. “It’s over,” he says again, brushing his lips over hers.
“For now,” she can’t help but point out.
Kenji frowns. “Sutton. It’s just like when you first got your powers. All you need is a little practice. You’ll figure them out.”
“It’s just frustrating,” she mutters, swallowing hard as she feels tears prick at the back of her eyes.
“I know, darling,” Kenji murmurs, kissing her again. “But we got through this fight. We’ll get through the rest of them.”
She blinks rapidly, dismayed when a few tears trickle down her cheeks. Damn. She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t feel sorry for herself. She’s stubborn and tenacious and figures things out.
“Come here,” she hears Kenji say, and then he’s sitting on the couch next to her and pulling her on to his lap.
His warmth and his strength are reassuring as she buries her face into his neck, shifting away from his bruised side when she feels him wince. A few more hot tears make their way down her face, and she squeezes her eyes shut tightly to get them to stop. Kenji tilts her head back, his thumbs wiping the tears away.
He doesn’t say anything, just presses his lips to each of her cheeks and then to her lips again. Sutton cracks a smile when he brushes his nose against hers.
“I saw that,” Kenji says, and it makes her smile again.
She sits back, keeping her arms looped loosely around his neck, playing with the ends of his hair.
“You know what you need?” he asks.
“What?”
Kenji tips his head toward the kitchen. “Your favorite wine. Chocolate. And a hot bath. You have a hundred bath bombs in that bathroom.”
Sutton snorts out a laugh. “I have five, Kenji.”
She glides her fingertips over the bruise on his side and one forming on his shoulder. “I think you’re the one who would benefit from a hot bath.”
A suggestive grin spreads across his face. “Are you inviting me to take a bath with you, Sutton?”
“I might be,” she teases him.
Climbing off his lap, Sutton saunters into the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine, two glasses, and the box of chocolate she keeps stashed away. Kenji watches her from the couch, taking her hand when she walks back over and holds it out. She pulls him upright, her muscles learning the even more minimal effort it takes now.
“You’re getting it already,” Kenji smiles as they walk into the bathroom.
Sutton fills the tub and drops in a bath bomb, watching it fizz as steam fills the room. They strip down, Kenji staring at her unabashedly and purposely flexing his muscles when he catches her looking at him.
“You’re ridiculous,” she laughs, taking a drink of her wine.
“You love it,” he shoots back, and she has to agree with him there.
Kenji climbs into the tub, easing down into the hot water, pressing his lips across the back of her neck as Sutton joins him and settles against his chest. He wraps his arms around her stomach, kissing down to her shoulder.
“If I get injured more often, can we start doing this more?” he mumbles into her wet skin.
“Not funny, Kenji,” Sutton retorts.
“How about we just do this more, then?” he asks hopefully.
Sutton shakes her head, her lips quirking up, and tilts her head back to see his playful smirk. She threads a wet hand into his dark hair, brushing her lips over his. It doesn’t really surprise her when it heats up, his kisses growing deeper and more insistent. She wrenches away after a moment and he grumbles.
“No,” Sutton says sternly.
“Why?” he asks, sneaking another kiss.
“You know why.”
“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” he insists.
“Kenji, you almost flooded the apartment the last time,” she reminds him.
“We almost flooded the apartment,” he argues.
“Fine. Either way, the apartment almost flooded.”
“The bed’s ten feet away,” he murmurs in her ear, sucking lightly on her neck.
Damn him. He knows how sensitive her neck is.
“We just got in,” she mumbles, biting back a groan when he scrapes his teeth teasingly over her skin.
“We’ll take a bath later,” he promises, his hands roaming over her hips.
Sutton protests that the bath bombs are expensive, and their bedroom will be cold, and he’ll end up convincing her to just stay in bed instead of actually taking a bath. Kenji promises to buy her more, and tells her he’ll keep her warm with a failed wink, and asks if it’s really a bad thing if they just end up staying in bed.
She’s trying to come up with another reason to stay in the tub, but they’re already out and dried off, Kenji’s lips hungry against hers as he leads her to the bed, by the time one comes to her. When he looks at her, his eyes dark and full of want and needs, and murmurs, “Lay down, darling,” she forgets why she was protesting in the first place.