A Series of Conversations #2: A Conversation About Work

***A Series of Conversations is intended for adult readers***

I was in the break room nursing a few broken ribs and a wounded ego. The first few missions with the team had gone well, but then I had gotten cocky and walked right into a gang of Black Hoods. I won the fight, but I had taken quite a beating before Dragonboy and Iron Cat could reach me. 

“Neveah, I recognize that look,” Julie said as she brought me some pain relievers and a bottle of water, “Stop beating yourself up. Everyone has bad luck sometimes.”

I wished I had kept my mask on; my facial expressions being so readily available was still a new and uncomfortable experience for me. 

“I fucked up. I-”

“I saw everything from your body cam footage.” Julie cut me off both with her words and a palm-up gesture. “All the calls you made on what intel you had were the right calls to make. The Black Hood wasn’t where we expected them to be. That’s it. Not your fault.” 

I shrugged, not wanting to argue. 

She sighed and shook her head affectionately. “I’ll leave you to mope for a bit. I’ll check on you in a couple of hours.”

I mumbled 'Thank you' as she left, not sure if she heard me. 

I swallowed the pain relievers with a swig of water and leaned back into one of the ample break room recliners. I closed my eyes and waited for the pain reliever to kick in, realizing only when I began to feel the effects that Julie had given me the strong stuff. I couldn’t feel the pain in my broken ribs at all, and the rest of my body tingled as pain receptors were numbed. 

“Rough day?” A masculine voice asked politely.

I opened my eyes and felt my stomach tighten. The Defender, son of The Protector, was getting a cup of coffee. I had only spoken to him during my welcome party. After we learned the others' secret identities, we only exchanged a few quick ‘hello’s’ in the halls to and from missions with our respective teams. I assumed that would be the extent of our relationship, as the weight of our fathers being sworn enemies would always put a damper on the most casual of conversations.

But here he was, starting a casual conversation. And here I was, staring at him blankly.

“Sorry, Julie gave me some pain meds, and they’re really kicking in,” I said in what I hoped was a normal tone. “Black Hoods weren’t where we thought they would be, and I got a few broken ribs fighting them off.”

“Ah, always sucks when that happens.” 

I nodded and smiled. I watched him add two creams and two packets of sweetener to his coffee.

“So, how are you liking working here?” The Defender asked, leaning against the counter and sipping his coffee, clearly not in a rush.

I felt the air fill with another long pause before I could answer. Between the drugs and my discomfort, every reach for a word to construct a coherent sentence was an uphill battle. 

“I’m enjoying it a lot,” I finally managed to answer. “I was happily surprised at how quickly everything seemed to slot into place.”

“That’s how I felt when I first started.”

“You were worried you wouldn’t fit in?” I couldn’t keep the note of incredulity out of my voice.

The Defender laughed. “Is it so hard to believe that I can feel insecure?”

“Sorry, I just assumed that The Defender, the son of The Protector, wouldn’t be worried about fitting in.” 

“Please, just Alan,” He took another sip of coffee. 

I noted he was a handsome man, his eyes had an epicanthic fold, and were a warm, pretty brown. This made it harder for me to imagine him feeling insecure. 

“Living in someone’s shadow is a lot,” He said quietly, “We got a tougher hand than most when it comes to that.”

My stomach loosened ever so slightly at his use of ‘we’.

Alan finished his coffee and rinsed out his cup in the communal sink.

“You taking the rest of the day off?” He asked in a more normal tone and volume.

“Julie said I am taking today and tomorrow off.”

“She’s a good boss.”

“Yeah, she is.”

Alan headed towards the door, waving over his shoulder as he did so. “Hope you feel better soon, Neveah. See you out there!”

“See you,” I said, feeling a little lighter in a way unrelated to the pain relievers.