Chapter 3
“[y/n]?” May asked.
You looked at her with an exhausted smile. Work was draining enough and now this surprise? Otto wearing a baggy hoodie with the hood masking his face, almost as if to hide in plain sight. You assumed people might recognize him from the news but no official photographs were put out yet — only an artist sketch.
Even with the baggy hoodie and oversized jacket, he was pushing it. Mechanical arms stuffed under clothes? That wasn’t exactly going to fly under the radar.
To his credit, he walked slowly and quietly now — the complete opposite of yesterday. His voice wasn’t booming either — it was soft. And “sweetheart” in that tone of his? It was criminal. Well, okay, he is a criminal but that’s now how I meant it, you think with a laugh. He tilted his head, as if asking to be in on the joke.
After you paid, you felt his eyes on you as you walked away, it made you self conscious about the amount of food you bought but you brushed it aside. I’m no longer in an environment where anyone is going to criticize me and they never should have in the first place, you reminded yourself.
And now you stared at May, wondering how on Earth you were going to explain all this. You may have told her almost everything but the villain attack? It didn’t feel right to share. You didn’t want to demonize Otto. He was, after all, incredibly nice to you. Not someone you could trust, but definitely not someone you felt comfortable mocking. Though him being a few feet away didn’t help.
And that voice, only this time in your ear? You shivered are the thought, as if he was behind you again with his breath on you.
May raises an eye brow as she grabs her slice with pepperoni and mushroom.
“[y/n]…” she says, as if chastising her nephew.
“It’s someone, isn’t it? Someone hot perhaps.”
“Oh my god, May.”
You bury your face in your hands. How is this woman never embarrassed by any topic of conversation? You could probably ask her about her sex life and she wouldn’t even so much as blush, remaining totally stone faced.
“Okay, okay, maybe? There may be a guy.”
She smirks.
“And he is handsome?”
“Oh my god, May. I can’t even look at you right now.”
“Hey. You have years of these friendship chats to get caught up on.”
You roll your eyes, grateful she didn’t use the term girl talk. Yes, men used it sometimes too to describe chats about their feelings but it would have made you dysphoric — especially coming from May. She’s a safe space.
“Okay, maybe he’s kind of hot. But he’s not a good guy.”
“I’ve had plenty of one night stands that weren’t good guys. That’s why you don’t date them.”
“May!” I gasped and we broke out laughing.
Sometimes it was hard to tell when she was joking.
I bite into my second slice of pizza.
“He’s like… I don’t know actually? There’s something about him I can’t put my finger on? Like there’s the confidence and his face and his voice is kinda… but there’s something else about him.”
She nods.
“The first thing that drew me to my husband was his voice. I bumped into him in the school hallway and he apologized even though it was totally my fault but when I heard his voice? I feel hard instantly. Granted, I was a dumb college kid afraid of commitment but I just knew I wanted him.”
May? Afraid of commitment? You couldn’t believe it.
“You were afraid of commitment? You take on absolutely every responsibility that you can. Hell, you seem like someone who’d give up anything to save the world. I’ve always seen you as a very self sacrificial person. And I don’t mean that as an insult or anything! Just you’ve put yourself last a lot.”
May nods.
“When money was tight I opened to feed Peter instead of myself. We down sized houses and I took a risk trying to get a job I wasn’t ready for to pay for Peter’s transition. But we got here. I was underprepared and under qualified. I knew it the second I got here.”
I shake my head.
“But you did your best to learn and you did. You’re the best person on our team! No one has their shit together like you.”
“Damn, right,” she says stone faced before breaking out into a smile.
She eats her last french fry and I throw away our trash. May pulls me along to this new store that she swears Peter adores but by her enthusiasm I’m assuming it’s just her.
She pulls me in and the first thing I notice is a man hunched over by the leather jackets.
That was the third incident.