Superman, Firebrand, and the Metropolis Gang in... the World's Mightiest Duckling

[stands_for_hope]

[continued from here]

It took a few weeks, but soon enough, the apartment had become an entirely settled little commune between the five of them. Steve's things had arrived as Clint had promised, they'd been installed in the new apartment, and the group had made the changes they'd discussed for everyone's comfort with one addition: with Steve bunking with Jim, the room he'd initially intended to take had become a general office/library/art room for everyone to use when they felt like a bit of time alone. For as silly as the concept sounded, all of them had ended up using the room a time or two and it had definitely kept things peaceful despite the addition of two new people.

Considering that the apartment was home to four superheroes and a world-famous journalist, it was amazing how easily they all fell into a routine. Jim, Lois, and Clark would usually leave for work around the same time and Steve, always an early riser, had taken to making them something to munch for breakfast on the way after he returned from his morning run. Having also gotten a position at the community center (teaching kids art and art history), Steve would leave with Diana an hour or so after that. Everyone filtered back into the apartment at different times and whoever was feeling up to cooking would usually start dinner when they got in. If no one was feeling up cooking, one of the two 'old' men would treat takeout.

Today, however, Jim's site was currently closed for due to an issue with the plumbing contractors and some unfortunate flooding that had occurred overnight. That was why Clark texted Jim and invited him to come visit he and Lois at the Daily Planet offices and go out for lunch together.

Comments

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Kinda like you're good for me?" He asked, looking up. He was careful to brace Jim as he got his feet.

"I don't like who I am when you're not there," he admitted, a little quieter.

[kolodnoykovki]

"You won't ever have to worry about that again." He reached up, right hand warm against Steve's cheek. "For God's sake, I've even already got your last name."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Just gotta get a ring on your finger now and make it official," he said with a grin before coming to his feet, reaching over for the shampoo to start in on Jim's hair.

[kolodnoykovki]

But with Steve so close, he couldn't resist wrapping his arms around his waist, nuzzling against his neck and saying, more seriously than he'd said anything so far, "I do."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve swallowed and leaned in for a soft kiss.

"Then I've, uh... got something for you when we get back to the apartment."

[kolodnoykovki]

After that kiss - which he drew out just a little - he couldn't help his surprise. But it was, he decided, the best kind of surprise. It put something warm just behind his heart, made his skin tingle. "...Really? Did you really, Steve?"

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He ducked his head a little.

"It's uh...it's Mom's ring. Got a chain for it. I wanted to... to give it to you. When the time was right."

[kolodnoykovki]

"...God, Steve..." He nudged Steve's chin up and kissed him deeply, moved beyond words. His mother's ring? He couldn't believe he was worthy of that, but if Steve had made the choice... In this, anyway, he wasn't going to fight it.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

He kissed him back, leaning in closer, smiling into it.

"No one else was gettin' it."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Part of me wants to tell you to keep it, 'cause it's your mom's, but..." But part of him wanted it around his neck, to touch through the day, to remind himself of what he had.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"And you know as well as I do that she'd want you to have it. Pretty sure she had us figured out before we did."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Pretty sure I remember her pulling the covers up over us one night," he murmured. "Up to my shoulder and up to your chin. Woke me up just enough to remember it, but then I went right back to sleep with you in my arms... Got in trouble for not going back to the orphanage that night."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"You were the only one other than herself that she trusted me with," he said with a half smile.

"Said you were as good as a nurse when it came to watching over me."

[kolodnoykovki]

"She taught me a lot about taking care of you. It made me feel good, that I could do that."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Now I'm learning how to take care of you too," he said, sounding... pleased. Even a little proud. The shampoo went into his hair and Steve started massaging it into his scalp, careful to keep the suds from falling into Jim's eyes.

[kolodnoykovki]

Jim closed his eyes and tipped his head back, sighing contentedly and unafraid of the trust he was putting into Steve's hands. Instead, he nearly purred, "Oh God, that's nice..." Two hands in his hair and he wasn't afraid of pulling himself bald.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Which meant that Steve took his time, making sure that the shampoo got to the roots, the scalp, massaging a little mostly because he could.

"You're giving me ideas for next month," he admitted with a little grin twisting his lips.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Mmh, Stevie, you don't know how good it is," he sighed. "S'just... damn nice."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"It's nice to be able to do something like this for you," he said honestly, "but a different kind of nice, I suppose."

When he'd gotten every spot, every hair, he redirected one of the heads to start carefully washing out the shampoo, scrubbing his fingers lightly through it to ensure that it all came out as he moved the water stream.

[kolodnoykovki]

"I could go to sleep like this." And he could - between the warmth and the sensations and the water and the love, he was more relaxed than he had been in...

Well. Since he could remember, even in his spotty memory.

He didn't even realise his arm was about to vent heat until it did it, and he had to move his hand away from Steve until the panels slid shut again.

"...And there's reality coming back again."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

Steve just shifted a little and kept going, thoroughly washing out the shampoo.

"Reality," he said, his tone matter-of-fact, "is that you and I had an amazing evening and that we're in a shower together now and I'm getting you washed up. Part of that is your arm venting and another part is you starin' at my johnson like it's gonna rear up and bite you..."

He accompanied that with an impish smile as one hand reached for the tiny bottle of conditioner.

[kolodnoykovki]

"Hey, I'm feeling a little shorted over here," he laughed. "Really, I don't know what part of the serum you got that made you hung like a goddamn horse, but they didn't put that in me, the bastards. Now I've gotta deal with being down an arm and being down a couple of important inches down there."

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Perfectly proportioned idiot," he reminded him with a quick kiss to his forehead before he started in on the conditioner.

"And what's between my legs is pretty much between you and me. So if you like it so much, it's all yours."

[kolodnoykovki]

"Damn straight." But then, swallowing a laugh, he added, "...Or should that be 'damn bi,' now?"

The laugh didn't stay swallowed for long.

[justakidfrombrklyn]

"Entirely up to you," Steve says, the laughter more than a little infectious.

"You call yourself what you like. As long as it's still me and you."

He started in on the conditioner, sticking mostly to the ends but letting his other hand massage a little at the scalp again since Jim seemed to like that.