❆ — It’s snowing and my muse slips on ice, accidentally crashing into your muse.
Antonio was having trouble sleeping lately. His mood was the worst it had ever been, save perhaps the time after the death of his brother, Gregory. If he tried to sleep, he suffered nightmares, memories of the torture, the pain, the fear. He missed Anthony. He missed Steve and Thor. He didn’t know why the hell he lived on while they didn’t.
Susan had invited him to a new team after the Ultimates disbanded after the death of Captain America and Thor. Numbly, he’d accepted, knowing that if he was idle, things would just get worse.
Feeling restless, he headed outside, wearing a thick coat and a scarf as his breath formed clouds in the air. It was December, winter in a rebuilt New York, people doing their Christmas shopping already and many decorations hanging up everywhere, but he could care less. He could only wonder what was the point to it all anymore when he was abruptly pulled out of his gloomy thoughts as he felt his footing disappear under him, his shoe slipping on an icy patch and he yelped as he collided with a smaller body. “Oof!”
He couldn’t help it. Her laugh was infectious and the situation so absurd now that Antonio started laughing too, a genuine, hearty laugh that he hadn’t had in ages. “Oh my god… I’m pretty sure I’ve got melted snow in my underpants now…” He hiccuped between laughs. He took her hand and put his other one on the ground, if on a cold concrete side-walk. He got back up on his feet, then looked to her, smiling a bit sheepishly “Ah, yes, that’s me… and you are, besides magnetic?”
A faint tinge of red occupied her cheeks just now. Biting the inside of her lip, she coughed a bit then, trying to stifle any other giggles. Antonio was a marvel in the weapons industry. Plus he was superhero. Ru was surprised that she wasn’t jumping for joy in front of him. Then again, heroes were people too. As he smiled sheepishly, she smiled genuinely. “Oh, that’s my middle name. Rumiko Magnetic Fujikawa,” she replied with a smile then realized that they were still holding hands, but he was so warm. She didn’t want to let go. “Okay, magnetic really isn’t my middle name. But Rumiko really is. It’s ah… a pleasure to meet you!”