Heroes

Chapter 40: dinner for four

Karl POV.

The two of us sat and talked to each other for a few minutes while avoiding anything to do with our jobs, since we figured that would make the conversation very awkward, until I decided to ask him a question. “So why did you really ask me out?”

Sapnap took a moment to figure out what to say, but after a moment he spoke quickly. “I invited you for two reasons, one is because I needed to warn you to get out of the city, it is getting dangerous and you should probably leave. Secondly I was wondering if you wanted to continue what had started at the bar… if y’know what I mean…”

“Wait what?” I asked, not having heard what he had said.
“Y’know, you and me, a dimly lit room. We’ll see how much stamina you have when you aren’t on the street.” He continued, cooing softly.
“No, not that.” I responded. “What was that about the city getting dangerous?”

“It’s…” Sapnap began before immediately cutting himself with a shake of his head. “I am not allowed to say. But it isn’t safe for you Karl. I suggest tomorrow morning you leave L’manburg and go stay with family or something outside of the country.”
“I don’t have family outside of the country.” I informed him.

“Then take them and get out!” He said firmly, before realising his tone and calming down. “It is getting more dangerous in the city every day.” He muttered. “I don’t know what happened to 404 but he is safer than you are. For your safety I suggest you do the same thing, drop the title and go into hiding. Please.”

“You know I can’t do that.” I simply responded, and that was the end of our conversation. For a while we just averted each other’s gazes, only looking back to each other when our food was delivered to us. It was still silent as we ate, and after a few minutes I called the waiter over and asked for a drink, just telling him to get something with a lot of alcohol.

“Why are you ordering that?” Sapnap asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
“Because tonight is getting too awkward,” I muttered as I took a sip of water. “Figured some alcohol might make it slightly more bearable for the both of us.”
Sapnap nodded at what I said before looking at the waiter and asking for the same thing as me.

Neither of us spoke until our drinks were brought out to us, but after we began to down them we noticed we were getting more tipsy. As the night went on and we finished our mains and went onto dessert, we began chatting again.

“So why do you want me to leave the city again?” I asked the ravenette as I stirred my newest drink with my finger before taking a sip.
“I just worry about you’s all.” Was the arsonist’s response, with his words slightly more slurred then mine. “There is a plan to get rid of you heroes, and I’ve only known you a week but…”

He trailed off as he had another sip of his drink before continuing. “I don’t wanna lose you. You’re all cute and cuddly and I will miss you if my friends’ll get rid of you.” I couldn’t help but smile at his awkward drunken rambles, while he averted his gaze for a while and his cheeks tinted red under the dim lighting of the restaurant.

“You should do whatever 404 did. Disappear of whatever. Then you’ll be safe.” He continued his babbling which became more and more incoherent as the night went on, and I found all of it surprisingly charming.

George POV.

“How did you get a table here exactly?” I asked the blond as we sat at one of the vip tables in the fanciest restaurant in the city. We were sitting on the second floor above a clearing, which showed several tables with several couples sitting below. On the opposite side, running around the edge of the second floor was a stream, with some koi swimming around mindlessly.

“I already told you George,” he responded, “Quackity owed me a favour, and so I managed to get this table.”
I nodded before taking another bite of my food. I had ordered some bao buns since they sounded tasty, and they were. Dream meanwhile had ordered Lobster tails.

His mask was pulled up slightly revealing the lower half of his face as he ate. I honestly expected Dream to be a forty year old man or something, just wearing a mask and using a voice changer, but he looked surprisingly attra… young.

The two of us ate in a comfortable near silence, just enjoying each other’s company. I spent a lot of time staring at his visible features. They were incredibly well defined, and although he always wore a mask you could see how his skin was sunkissed. I stared like a bit of a creep as I watched him eating his food. Oh how I wish I could be that lobst…

No. Cut out of it George, I scolded myself. I am a superhero. This is just an undercover mission, I can not go falling for a criminal, especially not the biggest and most dangerous criminal in this city. I turned away from him and went back to looking at the scenery, watching as a pair of brightly coloured birds chased each other through the treetops.

My eyes looked everywhere except for the blond opposite me. And eventually my gaze caught on something familiar. Between the trees on the other side of the restaurant, with a curtain of wines stopping me from seeing them properly was my best friend.

“Karl?” I muttered quietly in question, in wonder of why he was here. Dream heard what I said and looked in the same direction I had been looking in.
“Sapnap?” He muttered quietly after a moment, and I noticed he was looking at a ravenette sitting across from Karl.

The two of us were staring at the others on the other side of the restaurant for a few minutes, before Dream caught my attention back. “So you know the guy who Sapnap is with?” I nodded at him. He listened as I explained that Karl was a friend of mine, but I didn’t tell him how we befriended each other, since that story kind of reveals that we have superpowers.

Dream went on to explain how he knew Sapnap, but he made it clear that this was a partnership and not a friendship. That they have known each other for a while, especially in their earlier days of crimes.

Talking about other people we knew got us more open with each other, he told me little smidgens of the people in his life back from when he was younger, and I told him about myself when I was younger. I mentioned some of my current friends briefly, but gave him too little information for him to figure out much.

By the end of the night I had told him a lot and he seemed surprisingly happy to listen to me, his mouth stayed exposed as he just watched me laughing. He seemed in a surprisingly good mood and even offered to take me back to my house and we could watch a movie.

I immediately agreed, although I felt cautious about letting him see inside the safehouse. I felt happy and didn’t want the night to end. So the two of us headed out of the beautiful restaurant and he had his hand wrapped around my waist as we walked.
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