by TJ Klune
Last autumn, Nick had knocked on the door to the Gray household and politely demanded to be let into the secret lair of the Extraordinary known as Pyro Storm. Nick was still reeling from his father lying injured in the hospital, his sort-of ex-boyfriend revealing himself to be Shadow Star—the supposed savior of Nova City—who’d offered Nick the powers he’d always dreamed about for the low, low price of getting addicted to mysterious pills. And then there was his best friend/potential love of his life turning out to be Pyro Storm, the villain who wasn’t actually a villain, but was portrayed as such by said ex-boyfriend, Owen Burke, with help from a reporter whose very name spoken aloud caused children and small animals to flee in terror.
Nicholas Bell’s life was extremely complicated.
In the intervening months since the Battle at McManus Bridge (something the news reports tended to capitalize to show the importance; Nick had no problem with this), not much had changed in the secret lair, much to Nick’s displeasure. There were only two real differences that Nick could see: first, the pocket door now had a small sign hanging from it that read TEAM PYRO STORM in red letters with smoke rising off the top of them. He’d ordered it online.
Second was a gift from Nick’s father: a police scanner, something he’d apparently stolen from work—all while telling his son that stealing was illegal, to which Nick had replied that Dad needed to work on his messaging. It had only been turned on a couple of times since Gibby had figured out how to make an app that did the same thing on their phones. Not only could people download a simpler version of the app to report situations in progress, but the app also acted as a tracker to show the others on Team Pyro Storm where Seth was when acting as Pyro Storm, just to be safe. Instead of sitting in the basement listening to the scanner or flying around the city looking for problems to solve, an alert would pop up on his phone for serious wrongdoings that might need Pyro Storm. They’d all downloaded it: Martha, Bob, and Dad included, even though Nick had wanted to keep it on the down low. How embarrassing would it be if Dad looked at the app and saw Seth in Nick’s room when he wasn’t supposed to be? Seth had looked horrified when Nick voiced this worry aloud, and they’d agreed to turn it off unless Seth was in costume.
Speaking of.
As Seth went to the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, Nick glanced at the Pyro Storm costume hanging behind the computer and police scanner. The costume had been repaired by Seth’s aunt after the damage caused by Shadow Star. Pyro Storm’s helmet was red and black with red lenses that acted as a sort of augmented reality when Seth wore it, information sent wirelessly from the lair. Nick was of the mind that since Seth had fought his first big battle, his costume needed a slight redesign to keep it fresh and exciting, but still recognizable. It happened in every superhero sequel he’d ever seen. Martha had invited him to sew Seth’s new costume if he was so inclined. It took only two minutes before he’d stabbed himself with the sewing needle and decided the redesign could wait.
It was good. They were good. Sure, maybe he didn’t see Seth as much as he’d like, given his responsibilities to the people of Nova City, but that was the trade-off with dating an Extraordinary. And maybe there was a bit of residual jealousy that Seth could do what he did while Nick was left with his feet firmly planted on the ground, but it was fine. That was the way things were.
Which was why Nick was careful about bringing up any of his own petty complaints. Did he want more alone time with his boyfriend? Sure, but people trapped on the top floor of a burning building probably needed Pyro Storm more than Nick, and Seth had told him that his role as the leader of Team Pyro Storm was as important as his own. It was hard to be irritated with someone that selfless, so he kept his mouth shut. Besides, who else in the entire world could say they were the leader of Team Pyro Storm?
(There had been an election. Gibby voted for herself. Jazz voted for world peace because she hadn’t understood what they were doing. Nick also voted for himself, but that was because he knew Seth would vote for him too. Seth didn’t. He abstained. This led Nick on a twelve-minute rant that began with his qualifications and somehow ended up with him explaining the epistemological position of solipsism, the philosophical idea that one’s self is the only thing that can be proven to exist, something he’d inexplicably found himself reading about the night before on Wikipedia. Seth, knowing that Nick wouldn’t stop until he either died or someone stepped in, loudly proclaimed that Nick won the election. Democracy in action.)
It helped that Nova City had been somewhat quiet since the confrontation at McManus Bridge. So far, all the dire warnings from the pundits on the news that the contentious war between Pyro Storm and Shadow Star would lead to other Extraordinaries coming out of the woodwork in Nova City had proven false. With Owen Burke locked away in some facility (location unknown, much to Nick’s frustration), no villain had risen to take his place. Owen had once said that a hero was only as good as their villain, but he turned out to be pure evil, so Nick tried not to take anything he’d said seriously.
It was fine now, here, in this moment. They were together, and yes, it was after watching Nick’s dad make things to put on their buttholes, but still. Seth was laughing at Nick’s antics, and Nick wanted to hear that sound forever.
“Badass Power Kick!” Nick shouted as he clumsily lashed at the punching bag, almost knocking himself over as Seth chuckled. Seth had taken off his glasses and sweater and set them on top of the washing machine. He’d also loosened his bow tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt, something that caused Nick to be unable to form most words. Regardless of what had happened upstairs, Seth seemed softer, almost relaxed.
“You don’t need to name every fighting move you have,” Seth said, clutching the punching bag. “It’s a waste of time.”
“Says you,” Nick muttered as he wiped sweat from his brow. “Everyone knows the best fighting styles all have names that you shout when doing them.”
“Really,” Seth said dryly. “Everyone knows that.”
“Well, everyone except you.” Nick lifted his shirt to see if he had abs yet. He did not. He’d been at it for close to twenty minutes. What was the point of exercising if you didn’t see immediate results? He sighed as he dropped his shirt again. Maybe he was going about this all wrong. “Bear Hug of Destruction!” he bellowed and hurled himself at the punching bag, wrapping his arms and legs around it.
Seth grunted as he almost lost his footing but managed to stay upright. Nick grinned at him from his perch on the body bag. Seth rolled his eyes as he leaned forward, kissing him with a loud smack. Nick was still stunned that this was something they did now. They weren’t just two bros anymore. They were bros who kissed. The best kind of bros.
“Let’s try something a little different,” Seth said, stepping around the punching bag. Nick dropped back down to his feet and cocked his head curiously. “Turn around.”
“O … kay,” Nick said. He faced away from Seth. He startled when Seth pressed up against his back, a line of heat that immediately caused Nick’s heart to trip all over itself. He grunted when Seth wrapped an arm around his neck, though not hard enough to choke him. “I’m totally on board for this, whatever it is.”
Seth snorted in his ear. “Yeah, I bet you are. Focus, Nick. I’m a villain. I’ve got you in my grasp. How do you get free?”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to get free. I’m pretty good with this, if I’m being honest. Oh no, the villain won. Whatever shall I do?”
Seth jostled him a little, his chest bumping against Nick’s back. “This is serious. You want to learn to fight, you’ve got to prepare for anything. Help won’t always come. How do you get free?”
“I don’t know,” Nick admitted, having a hard time paying attention. He was distracted by the hairs on Seth’s arms, tickling his chin.
Seth lowered his other hand to Nick’s right elbow, gripping it tightly. Carefully, he pulled it back, pressing it against his side. “Here, a weak point. Use enough force…” He pushed
Nick’s elbow away before bringing it back against his side. “And you might be able to get them to loosen their grip on you.”
Excited, Nick said, “And then I can flip them over me and send them flying! Whoa, this is frickin’ badass.”
“Uh,” Seth said, “that might be a little advanced. Why don’t we save that for—”
“Backflip of Chaos!” Nick shouted, jerking his body forward, ready to send Seth toppling over him. His back twinged painfully as Seth’s grip loosened. Nick promptly fell flat on his face.
“Oh shit,” Seth breathed. “Shit, shit, Nick, I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
Nick shot to his feet, almost falling again. “I’m okay! I meant to do that. I wanted to see if you were paying attention. Ignore the way I’m hunched over. I’m standing like this because it’s my choice. Again!”
Seth hesitated before nodding.
Ten minutes later, Seth groaned as he held his side, Nick’s elbow apparently bonier than even he knew. And that didn’t begin to cover that Nick had made friends with the floor seven more times.
Nick pulled himself up again, flinching as he poked at his nose. Didn’t seem to be broken, though it hurt like hell. “Again!” he demanded.
Seth wheezed, grimacing. “Let’s … hold off on that for a bit. I don’t think my ribs can take it.”
“I win!” Nick said, throwing his hands up in celebration. “All I have to do is make sure the bad guys keep grabbing me, and I’ll wear them down eventually.”
Seth winced as he went to the washing machine and hoisted himself up, legs dangling down. “Weirder things have worked. Don’t tell your dad about this. He might try and make a dental dam that covers your entire body.”
Nick groaned. “I don’t know why he’s hell-bent on making my life miserable, but that was bad, even for him. I’ll make sure he knows that wasn’t cool.”
“Should we talk about it?”
“Furious Lightning Punch!” Nick cried instead of answering. His fist landed with a meaty thud against the bag, causing his knuckles to pop painfully. It was probably for the best that he never became an Extraordinary. Punching things hurt like crazy. If anything, at least he knew for sure now he wasn’t into pain.
“Nicky.”
Seth was onto him. Curse him for knowing Nick so well. “Yeah, yeah. I’d rather not, but a relationship isn’t a one-way street. You have to give as much as you take to keep your man happy.”
“You really should stop reading Cosmo.”
Nick approached the washing machine, pleased when Seth parted his legs without question. He collapsed dramatically against him, his face on Seth’s chest. He smelled good, like a fire burning on a cold winter day. It made much more sense now that Nick knew why. He shivered slightly as Seth reached up and scratched the back of his neck, fingers going into his hair.
“You need a haircut,” Seth murmured.
“I’ll get one,” Nick said, voice muffled. “But thanks for giving me an out. We can talk about it.” He lifted his head to meet Seth’s gaze. “Probably should talk about a couple of things, you know?” Maybe now would be a good time to ask Seth to slow down a little, and not just for Nick’s own selfish wants. Seth looked tired. He had dark lines under his eyes that never seemed to go away. He needed to take care of himself more.
Seth studied him for a moment before nodding slowly. He took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose. “So. Sex. Between you and me.”
Nick immediately chuckled nervously. He coughed to cover it up, but Seth wasn’t fooled. No matter what Nick had been through, no matter what he’d discovered lurking in the darkest corners of the internet, he was still a bit of a prude.
Seth let it go. Good guy, that Seth. “Is that something you want?”
Nick tapped his fingers on Seth’s thighs, suddenly cognizant of how close his hands were to Seth’s junk. He pulled away, crossing his arms to try to keep from fidgeting. “Yes? No. I mean, not right this second, obviously, because your aunt and uncle are still upstairs with my dad and that is not something I want to think about when we’re going at it like rabbits in heat. Did you know there are furries who dress up like rabbits? That’s so rad, right? I wouldn’t be a rabbit if I was a furry, because little kids would think I was the Easter Bunny and I don’t want kids accosting me for my eggs—”
“Nicky.”
Nick deflated. “Thank you for stopping me. I have no idea where that was going.”
Seth chuckled quietly. “I figured.” He cleared his throat as he sobered. “I like the … stuff we do already.”
Nick nodded so hard his neck cracked. “Me too. A-plus on the making-out thing. Go you. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d’ve gotten a lot of practice with that secret boyfriend and/or girlfriend that you said you never had.”
Seth poked him hard in the chest. “Or maybe I ordered a pillow online with a certain Extraordinary’s face on it and made out with it.”
“We agreed to never bring that up again,” Nick hissed.
“Secret boyfriend and/or girlfriend,” Seth reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Nick mumbled. “Fair’s fair. I won’t do it if you won’t.” He picked at a loose string on the hem of his hoodie. “Honest?”
“Honest,” Seth agreed, and because it came from him, Nick knew he wouldn’t be made fun of for the thoughts racing through his head. Ever since the day he’d met a boy eating pudding on the swings, Nick would do anything for Seth, even speak the hard truths.
“Sex sounds amazing,” Nick said, hating how his voice broke in his nervousness. “If the porn I’ve watched is any indication, it feels good too.”
“Porn isn’t real life,” Seth said, keeping his hands to himself, which Nick was grateful for.
“Right,” Nick said. “But there has to be something to it, you know?” He looked away. “And, like, the making-out stuff we do is awesome.”
Seth chuckled. “So awesome.”
Relieved, Nick said, “So glad you agree. We’re pretty good at it, if you ask me.”
“Might even be the best at it.”
“But it’s more than that,” Nick said, looking up at Seth and holding his gaze. It’s…” Here, now, a chance. A chance to say some words he’d been thinking about lately, words that he couldn’t quite get to unstick from his throat. Words that were enormous and terrifying and would change everything, even if everyone already knew they were true. Three little words about how much Nick cared for Seth.
He remembered standing in this very house, just upstairs, angry at all the lies Seth was telling him, only to have Bob flap his lips and reveal that Seth was in love with him. Love, like sex, was a vast, complicated thing that Nick didn’t have a firm grasp on yet. He loved Seth. He knew that. He’d loved him since the moment he’d met him. Aside from his dad, there was nobody on Earth who Nick loved more. But what was the difference between love and being in love? Nick wasn’t sure. Everything he felt for Seth was jumbled up in a complicated knot in his chest. It wasn’t a bad thing, but Nick wasn’t sure he was ready to parse through it yet. But no problem was ever solved by not talking about it, and Nick thought he might be ready to say … well. Something.
“What is it?” Seth asked, startling Nick out of his thoughts. “Hey, you all right?”
Nick smiled tightly. “Yeah, I’m good.” He shook his head as he snorted. “Lost in my head a bit. You know how it is.”
“I do,” Seth said. “You can tell me anything, Nicky. You know that.”
He opened his mouth to say this. To say all this and more.
Before Nick could, Seth’s phone beeped, as did his own. Nick stepped back, pulling his phone from his pocket. He frowned when he saw a text from Jazz.
We have a problem.
He looked up, brow furrowed. Seth was holding out his own phone. He had a text from Gibby.
We have a problem.
“What the hell,” Nick muttered. “What’s trying to kill us now? You think it’s some new Extraordinary villain bent
on—”
He never got to finish. The door to the basement flew open, causing them both to jump. “Guys?” Dad called down. “You need to get up here. We have a problem.”
“Why is everyone saying that?” Nick asked. “It’d better be a real problem, or I swear to god, I’m gonna do whatever I can to help because we need to take everyone’s issues seriously, no matter how minor.”
Nick grabbed Seth by the hand and pulled him toward the stairs, already formulating a plan in his mind that would involve Pyro Storm kicking ass and taking names with his Team Leader at his side. At the very least, he’d have new material for his fic.
And, if he was being honest with himself, wasn’t he imagining fighting alongside Pyro Storm? Yes, he was. He wasn’t an Extraordinary. He knew that. He’d never be an Extraordinary. He’d failed in that regard, but that didn’t stop him from imagining standing back-to-back with Pyro Storm, brave and true, so Seth knew Nick would always have his back.
Underneath this funny little daydream was a pleasant itch, a tickle thin as a whisper, like a thought he couldn’t quite grasp onto. Probably the beginnings of a headache. He hoped not. He needed to be able to focus.
Above them, the single bare light bulb flared brightly.
They ignored it.
It was nothing. Power surges happened all the time.
3
When they reached the living room, Martha and Bob were standing behind the couch, whispering furiously to each other. Dad stood at the window looking out at the street, peering out from behind the curtain like a creeper.
“What happened?” Seth asked, sounding breathless. “Do I need to suit up?”
“Whoa,” Nick said. “Say that again, except slower and with feeling.”
Dad sighed. “Nick, keep it in your pants. We’re about to have guests.”
The doorbell chimed, followed by a heavy pounding.
“Gibby and Jazz,” Dad said, letting the curtain fall back in place.
Nick blinked. “What are they doing here? We weren’t going to meet up with them until later.” They’d planned a double date for Valentine’s Day. He’d been unsure of what was expected of him now that he had a boyfriend, and he’d worked himself into a panic trying to plan the most romantic date he could think of, which involved a picnic in the park and a mariachi band. Gibby had saved him from himself (“It’s February and you want to go on a picnic? Nicky, you’re a disaster.”) and had invited them out with her and Jazz, which Nick had accepted gratefully.
