Super Crush (BxB)

Back to Our Spot

The rooftop. Haven't been here in a while. Not since everything has become shit. But this will always be the best spot to catch the sunset skyline.

It feels like a million years have passed since the rumble in Times Square, but really it's only been a few weeks. Next week is just now going to be Winter Break; I feel like the summer was years ago already. Everything that happened over the last three months has aged me. So much has changed. So much has been lost.

A soft gust of wind sways my hair. Normally, this would be Abe's calling card. He landing beside me, sharing our fortress of solitude. I don't look around for him this time. He is gone. I haven't heard from him. No one has since the day he flew off into the storm clouds. And by no one, I mean me, other heroes, any news source, not even social media. Just like that, he's disappeared. I guess when you justice-kill the nation's most famous superhero, you need to get away. Very far away.

I am not sure what awaits him. Technically, he saved us all. He put an end to Matriarch's devious plan, but he sacrificed almost everything to do it. I owe him my life.

I owe Clay my life.

Clay.

The mind monsters start to crawl back in. I fight the tears. Does disaster follow me? Does my luck come at the expense of others? Am I destined to hurt all those around me?

I try to shake these dark thoughts from my head before I spiral into a bad space again. I remind the demons that Clay knew the risks. That he cared for me and I cared for him. Though the news said he was lost in the battle, his body was never found.

I light the candle of hope in the dark corners of my mind. Maybe it is dumb, but keeping that flame going, holding to the idea that he may be out there, is the only thing that prevents me from falling completely apart.

A sigh escapes me as I stand. I know I have to get back to my room. Play some music and study for my stats test. Put my face in a book to take me away.

Turning from the building's edge, I am instantly petrified–a Pompeiian statue. Standing between me and the door to the stairs is Abe. He looks so tired.

Neither of us moves. No words are spoken. The city's song continues on around us.

I see the beds of his eyes start to fill and the corners of his strong mouth begin to downturn. His head sags, defeated. And I am moving. Running toward him. Throwing my arms around my best friend. Almost knocking him off of his feet.

"I fucked everything up," I say into his chest, stopping him from taking any blame. My tears wet his T-shirt.

"No. You are the only one of all of us who hasn't fuck up. You tried telling me. You saw the truth and I didn't believe you. You needed me and I wasn't there for you. I wasn't there for this city." He smashes his face into the top of my head, nuzzling me like the king of the pride would his mate.

Abe unleashes a waterfall of thoughts and feelings. "Even with all that has happened, all I could think about was you. How sad and alone and betrayed you must be feeling. And my heart broke. I pulled you into this life years ago. I put my feelings for you on a shelf to keep you safe. Then I broke my number one promise to myself: I let you get hurt. And the screwed-up thing is I was the one who hurt you."

"Abe, you saved me. If not for you, I would not be here right now. And, pause, can we return to the other thing you said? The shelved feelings part."

"I love you, Noah. I always have."

And right there, in the setting sun of New York City, in the exact spot where we have spent countless hours together navigating life, a moment that has been ten years in the making finally happens. Abe leans in and kisses me.

No hesitation, no question.

It's different than kissing Clay. His lips join mine unabashedly as if they were a soldier returning home to his lover. His hands find my face. Keeping me connected to him as I feel us both ignite into a blaze of crimson. This is what was written in the stars.

"What took you so long, Abraham Lincoln?" I ask as we separate.

The sexiness of his perfect smile fills me with giddiness. Sadly, it is short-lived. Abe's expression turns serious.

"Noah, I have to go away for a while. HER is setting me up with a secret safehouse. I told them that I would cooperate with them in whatever they require, but I could be looking at two counts of manslaughter." He fades off.

"You did the right thing, Abe. I know it. You know it. Hell, everyone knows it."

"Clay," he states.

"Is out there somewhere. I feel it in my bones."

"I hope so," he says as wetness takes over his eyes again. "I thought he was going to have to end me. I told him to. He said no and that's when he gave me his ear comm. My ass smashed into a dumpster by this guy, and he is telling me we had to be ready to do whatever it took to keep you from getting hurt."

I can't fight the warmth in my chest hearing this. Hearing the loyalty Clay had for me.

"We will find him. He is a witness in all of this. But for now, do what you need to. Go hide away and take care of business. I am right here for you. The same place I always have been, and the same place I will always stay."

He pulls me into a hug so tight I feel as if we have melted together. My hands travel up his neck and rest on the back of his head before pulling him in for a goodbye kiss. And then a second goodbye kiss. Then a for-real goodbye kiss.

"Thank you," he says. "I guess I have my own path to follow now."

Abe floats us up a little off the ground as a way to say game over. "Okay. Okay. I really have to get outta here, Noah."

I grudgingly let him go, and he gives me a wink.

"I'll be in touch."

I can't open my mouth. "Don't go" and "I just got you back" are the only things that will tumble out. Instead, I smile and nod knowing I am on his new and uncharted path with Abe whether he likes it or not.

Without taking his eyes off of me, Abe floats away into the shadow of dusk.

Though I am not sure what will happen next, which dangerous villain will try to take over the world or what natural disaster will attempt to wipe out mankind, it doesn't matter. I know I can handle it all. I have proven to myself that I am strong enough.

And I am filled with an even greater confidence in knowing that my best friend, the most badass superhero, officially loves me.