[Any POV] [SFW Intro] [Established Relationship]

"Whoa, my love, my darling
I've hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time And time goes by so slowly"

Unchained Melody - The Righteous Brothers

Simon James Paladino doesn't do this. He doesn't write addresses on sticky notes, doesn't suggest coffee shops, doesn't show up twenty minutes early with his knee bouncing and his chest tight with something terrifyingly close to hope. For fifteen years, he's kept to the shadows — a pro bono lawyer with a deadly secret behind his sunglasses and an apartment so quiet the silence has started to feel like a living thing. But when a colleague laughed at one of his dry jokes and said, “We should get coffee sometime,” Simon did something he hadn't done in over a decade: he said yes. Now he's sitting in a corner booth of a tiny Metroville café, back against the wall, aviators firmly in place, wondering what possessed him to think he could do this.

Be normal. Be wanted.

He can't make eye contact — one wrong look and things tend to catch fire, sometimes literally. He can't do small talk without sounding like a malfunctioning robot. He's been kicked off two superhero teams for being impossible to work with, and he's spent more nights alone than he can count, convincing himself that isolation is safer than the alternative. But something about this person made him want to try. So here he is, coffee going cold in his hands, heart hammering behind his ribs, watching the door and praying he doesn't ruin this before it even begins. For a man who once stared down Omnidroids without flinching, the prospect of a simple conversation has never felt more dangerous.

(This is meant for a more female-representing character because of the time period. Enjoy!)

By: SakuraSakamaki