Dashing Devil Omnibus 2: Books 4-6, page 14
“Go on, ya big lug… open it!” Tinker almost shouted.
‘Quit being a little shit and open it already,’ Mindy sent, ‘before the poor girl gives herself an aneurism.’
Grinning, Boyd tore off the pink wrapping paper to find a bunch of tissue paper with a card in an envelope on top. He was about to dig under the tissue paper when Mindy spoke up in his mind once more.
‘Read the card first! It’s important.’
Boyd opened the card, only to have a printed ticket fall into his hand. The ticket read:
The bearer of this ticket is invited to a showing of Return of the Jedi.
Time: tonight at 6 pm
Location: small bedroom
Dress: the contents of this package
Pizza will be provided!
Chuckling, Boyd asked, “Are you asking me out on a date, Tink?”
Shyly, she nodded. “Now you can dig under the tissue paper.”
Boyd pulled the tissue back to reveal a… very large pink t-shirt. Raev cocked her head to the side, studying the t-shirt while Silvie just frowned at it. Boyd sensed confusion from both of them across their Bonds.
He held the shirt up. “It’s… um… it’s really pink,” Boyd said.
He frowned, looking at the t-shirt in his hands and then over his shoulder at his wings. He really didn’t want to disappoint her, given the boundless excitement he sensed from her, but he didn’t see how he couldn’t do just that. “While I would really like to wear the t-shirt, Tinker,” Boyd said slowly, “I don’t think I’ll be able to put it on.”
‘Just try to put it on,’ Mindy encouraged him. ‘All is not as it seems.’
With a shrug, Boyd pushed first his left arm through the armhole of the T-shirt, followed by his right. Then, after scrunching the t-shirt up by its collar, he carefully slipped his head through the hole, mindful of his horns. Instead of catching on his wings, though, the t-shirt seemed to melt around them, the fabric somehow reconnecting below the joint of his large wings.
Boyd was stunned. Not since his change had he been able to wear a regular T-shirt. And this one was incredibly soft and comfortable. It hugged his arms, across his chest, and molded to his body like only the best athletic wear could. He could even put up with the light pink color of the t-shirt, given how comfortable it was.
Boyd normally went shirtless because of the difficulties his wings presented with wearing a shirt. Around the base, he usually just wore a pair of athletic shorts. It wasn’t that he preferred going topless, it was just a fact of life he’d come to accept.
‘I prefer you topless,’ Mindy sent, ‘though if you wear shirts like this, it is just as good.’
“Do you like it?” Tinker asked softly. But then, like a damn bursting, the words just spilled out of her mouth.
“I wanted to get you something you could wear for our date so that we could match, and when I was thinking about what would be best, I saw your shirt that I wore to sleep in after our last date and I thought there had to be a better way for you to wear a shirt than to have to deal with all those stupid buttons. So I adapted some of the materials that make the smart beds so comfortable and integrated the seam technology used in your suit, and…” She dragged in a big breath. “Do you like it?”
Boyd ran his hands down the front of his new T-shirt. The fabric molded itself to his torso and was incredibly soft. Looking down, he saw there was writing on the T-shirt in white lettering. He pulled the bottom of the shirt out at an angle so he could read it: ‘Han Solo Shot First!’
Boyd couldn’t himself. A deep, hearty belly laugh rumbled up from him. “I absolutely love it, Tink,” he said, looking at her with a wide grin on his face. “What are you going to wear, so that we match?”
“Oh! I know… be right back,” Silvie said, then disappeared in a silver blur. Two seconds later, she was back with a thin package of her own, tied off with a pink ribbon. “Here, Tinker, this is for you… I think it will be perfect for… umm… after the movie.”
Tinker blinked at Silvie with her big hazel eyes, then shrugged and tugged the ribbon from the thin box and pulled the top portion of it off. Inside the bottom of the box had to be the tiniest G-string, garter set, and demi-bra that Boyd had ever seen. It was a hot pink—at least those parts that weren’t sheer.
The tiny woman immediately turned a more brilliant shade of pink than the lingerie set.
Across their bond, Boyd sensed mortification warring with what he could only describe as a hunger. Suddenly, she slammed the top of the box down and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head from side to side.
Looking concerned, Silvie floated closer to the little woman. “Is everything okay, Sweetie?”
Raev came over to her petite friend, worry showing in her eyes. “You don’t have to wear it if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Tinker started shaking, and Silvie’s face fell. But it wasn’t fear, anxiety, or trepidation Boyd sensed across their Bond. Tinker wasn’t crying, he realized. She was laughing!
Tears streaming down her face as she giggled uncontrollably, Tinker managed to get out before giggles completely overtook her, “I’ve seen more cotton in the top of a bottle of aspirin!”
Everyone had a good laugh, though Boyd glared at Silvie as he chuckled. She should have known better than to embarrass the little inventor like this—not that Tinker wouldn’t look amazing in the lingerie. He leaned over to his floating lover and rumbled as softly as he could in her ear. “I know you meant well, but you should have known better than to present something like that to her in front of everyone. There will be consequences.”
And with that, Boyd straightened up and brought his hands together in a loud clap. This was immediately followed by a yelp from Silvie. Everyone but Silvie turned to Boyd, thinking that he’d clapped to get their attention. Instead of turning to him, Silvie was scowling as she rubbed the red imprint of a spade-shaped tail just below the bottom of her too-short shorts.
“Kuh-he!” Mindy let out her signature laugh as she caught on to his rebuke.
He’d clapped to cover the other loud noise he’d made—but as long as he had their attention, he might as well get them moving.
“Okay everyone, gear up,” he said brightly. “Raev, please fly Laura and Daisy back to Glorith City when they are ready to go. Everyone else, meet me in the War Room.”
Chapter 15
Daisy was in a good mood. For one, she got to wear a dress, which was what she usually preferred to wear. She never had to shave her legs; she had had no body hair to shave since her Change. Besides, she always enjoyed feeling a little breeze on her legs. For another, she had just gotten to do one thing that she’d always wanted to but never had the credits for.
Daisy had gone on her first shopping spree.
Laura had been good company throughout, helping her pick out different outfits and recommending one of the nicer hand-held view screens to replace the hand-me-down she’d inherited from her mom. Connor currently had their dad’s old viewscreen, but he was getting a new one, too. Daisy would have him send her their father’s old screen back to her so that she could tuck it away for safekeeping. They had little to remember their parents by.
She had loaded up on groceries, having them delivered to her apartment’s door. Daisy had been sure to get all of her elderly neighbor’s favorites—seeing this as a chance to return some of the many favors the kindly older woman had done for her and Connor over the years. Laura went with her for a visit, and to help deliver the groceries.
The Changed girl had been vague about her new job, though, sticking to a cover story of a behind-the-scenes position within The Tower. Her neighbor had been excited for her, though the older woman was sad she wouldn’t get to see the siblings as much. Daisy gave her a grateful hug, promising to make it up to the grandmotherly figure.
The rest of their purchases were stored in the cargo compartment of the rented grav sled they had picked up for the day. Daisy had been surprised to learn that Laura was licensed to pilot one. Although they mostly flew by themselves, the grav sled needed a licensed operator, or it wouldn’t even turn on.
This was supposedly a measure put in place for emergencies when the autopilot failed—or just to keep people The Authority didn’t want to from operating the flying vehicles. Opinions varied. Daisy believed the latter, of course.
Laura had set the sled to keep them low and slow as they flew through the city, to account for Daisy’s discomfort with flying. She looked comfortable behind the strange tilting wheel that Daisy came to understand controlled the craft. They had gotten a luxury model, with a plush leather seat that sucked her into it.
Ordinarily, she would have disdained such extravagance. She couldn’t complain, though, because the extremely comfortable seat was helping her stay relaxed, while the sleek interior gave her plenty to keep her eyes busy inside the craft. She pointedly ignored the buildings zipping past outside the window.
Daisy fidgeted with the skirt of the new sundress she had worn out of a store. It was a light yellow with white embroidery along the hem. She never understood how people could spend so much on clothes, but she had to admit the fabric felt better than what she was used to on her skin, and it fit her better. She couldn’t say if it was because the dress was made from a higher quality fabric or if it was simply a trick of her brain convincing her that the garment felt nicer because she paid more for it than she would have for any six or seven dresses before.
Laura, who had also bought new clothes but stuck to the jeans, cream tank top, and green light jacket she’d left the base in, looked her way as the grav sled flew on autopilot. After watching Daisy fidget for a moment, she asked, “Would you like to talk about it? We’ve got some time before we get there.”
Daisy glanced at the brunette, then back down at her hands in her lap. She’d gotten a manicure, and her nails looked really nice with French Tips.
“Talk about what?” she asked without the normal defensiveness she carried like a chip on her shoulder around the others.
Laura was really nice, and they had started something today that might become a friendship. Daisy didn’t want to sour that. She so badly wanted a friend.
“Whatever it is you’ve been wanting to talk about all day,” Laura said with a chuckle. “You’re very expressive. I bet I’ve seen you think about bringing something up and then decide not to at least a dozen times today. You even shake your head a little when you talk yourself out of whatever it is.”
“Oh…”
Daisy felt her cheeks flush a little. It wasn’t the first time she had been told she tended to wear her thoughts on her sleeve. She was fine when she was in work mode. Happy little smiles were easy, but she hadn’t been in work mode today.
“Um, I don’t know…” Daisy shrugged her shoulders, glancing at Laura out of the corner of her eye.
She kept deciding not to bring it up because if she did, it might make all these newly experienced luxuries disappear. Her signing bonus would last her half a year on its own, but that was under her previous lifestyle—which she wasn’t keen on returning to.
“Do you count as my doctor, right now? Like, do we have confidentiality?”
“If it’s a medical issue? Always. If it’s just a secret… of course.” Laura said warmly with a big smile. “I know you’re going through a lot, so feel free to come to me with anything you need to talk about. I’ve been told I’m an excellent listener.”
Daisy had to admit that was certainly true. Laura was just easy to relax around—which, in turn, made it easy to talk to her. Even riding along in the grav sled, going way too fast and being way too high, hadn’t been as panic-inducing for Daisy as it normally was.
Laura had even helped her through the flights on the team’s ship relatively painlessly. The woman had a very calming presence about her, but that didn’t mean Daisy could totally relax. She didn’t want to risk this position—not only for what it meant for her, but also for Connor.
“Does that include The Devoted?” Daisy asked carefully. “Like, does Boyd get reports on things we talk about?”
“Of course not,” Laura shook her head. “The only time I would be required to disclose anything about you is if whatever it interferes with your ability to do your job or makes you a danger to yourself or others.”
“Um,” Daisy’s hand bunched the skirt of her nice new dress up as it clenched into a fist. “It doesn’t interfere with my ability to do my job, and it doesn’t make me dangerous.”
“It’s that your Power isn’t working,” Laura said with a nod. “I’d been wondering why I haven’t seen you using it.”
“W-what?” Daisy stammered; but she had been so careful. “I’ve been using it, I’ve been floating stuff all over the place.”
“Which you can do, outside of your home,” Laura agreed, nodding to confirm her understanding. “I read your file, Daisy. I know what you are supposed to be able to do when in your home. You’ve been washing dishes by hand, dear. I even noticed you’ve been using the laundry machine. You shouldn’t need to do either.”
“Shit,” Daisy swore softly before asking, “Does Boyd know?”
“Not as far as I know.” Laura shrugged. “He shouldn’t have access to your full file, as there isn’t a reason he would need to. You still have privacy rights, even while working as Base Support for a Hero team. That’s one of the things you only give up when you take on the title of Hero.”
Laura paused. “Of course, Mindy probably knows, but she will also adhere to the Principle of Privacy. It’s the rules.”
“You sure know a lot about this,” Daisy said.
“I’ve had lots of confidentiality training.” Laura laughed. “Which is why I know you don’t have to worry about me reporting you to anyone. It doesn’t stop you from doing your job or make you dangerous. Nor does it sound likely to be a medical issue. Unless there are other symptoms?”
“No.” Daisy shook her head. “I feel fine, although this is the first time I’ve gone this long without being home. It makes me a little nervous, I guess. The base feels really safe, even though it’s out in the Wild Lands. It’s just that I can’t get my Power to treat it like my home, even in my personal apartment.”
“Hmm,” Laura hummed in thought, “we can run some tests when we get back if you like, but it doesn’t sound like something I can help with. Is it interfering with your training? I know you said that was going well earlier.”
“No,” Daisy shook her head again, “not really. I don’t feel fully safe without being invulnerable, but it’s hard to explain how safe that feels to someone who hasn’t experienced it. I’ve tried before and no one quite gets it. The training says I’m supposed to make myself feel as safe as possible, but though it hasn’t enabled me to connect with my Power, it seems to help with the urges.”
“I can only imagine,” Laura confirmed, “how that feeling would be hard to replace. It’s tough enough getting used to not having millions of people around you and nice thick, tall walls keeping the creatures away. But being used to personal invulnerability and losing that? I’m sure that has to be a lot more uncomfortable.”
“Like I said, I feel pretty safe in the base. But yeah, the thought of some creature finding its way inside sometimes just crops up. Like, I’ll be alone in the Great Room cooking dinner or something and I’m like… What happens if some monster randomly teleports in here and eats me?” She shuddered. “Then I find myself checking over my shoulder every five seconds.”
“I know the feeling,” Laura chuckled. “I’ve taken to keeping a vial of a powerful and very fast-acting tranquilizer in my pocket or my sock if I have no pockets, like when I’m in the gym working out. I plan to just dump the whole thing into the head of whatever shows up as fast as I can.”
She switched to a conspiratorial tone and leaned in a little before continuing, “Chances are that I’ll kill it, but I’m of the opinion that my oath to do no harm doesn’t apply to things that want to eat me.”
“Truth!” Daisy giggled, a smile quirking her lips. “That’s probably a smart outlook. So… uh… you get scared, too?”
“Yes,” Laura smirked with a twinkle in her eye, “but I’ve learned a trick that helps.”
“Oh?” Daisy asked, raising her eyebrow.
“Mhmm,” Laura nodded and winked, “whenever one of those thoughts crop up, I picture Boyd bursting into the room and tearing apart whatever my imagination conjured up to save me.” She bounced her brows. “He’s topless, of course. Tinker’s shirt was cute, but it would be a crying shame if that man started wearing shirts on the regular.”
“W-what?” Daisy sputtered, ending with a laugh.
She had been expecting a mental exercise or something. Laura hadn’t been subtle when she’d told Daisy she was interested in Boyd, but Daisy hadn’t thought she would blurt something like that out.
“It works fantastically.” Laura grinned at her. “Once the imaginary Boyd is done saving you, you aren’t worried about being eaten anymore. Instead, you start to look forward to it.”
“Pfft,” Daisy laughed so hard she snorted at the joke, as Laura’s delivery made it clear she was trying to be funny.
“With those rippling muscles all sweaty after wrestling some great beast into submission to save you…” Laura continued to tease, then joined in Daisy’s laughter for a moment.
“Are you going to go for him?” Daisy asked once her laughter eased off.
She was curious. Daisy had seen how Laura looked at Boyd—her interest was obvious to anyone who wasn’t blind. But it had seemed like she wasn’t sure if it would go anywhere.
“If he survives tomorrow, most likely.” Laura shrugged again and shook her head sadly. “If everything goes as he planned it to, I’ll have no choice but to admit he does know what he’s doing. He clearly isn’t as reckless as I once thought, or he wouldn’t be preparing so thoroughly… so that excuse to keep him at arm’s length had to go out the window.”
The brunette chewed on her lower lip before sighing. “That was his biggest red flag, if I’m being honest. And it turned out to be a red herring.”
