poison ivy - the boys

twenty-six

"And Crimson Countess? How did you treat her? Were you disloyal?" she asked.

"I loved her..." he looked away from Jane a bit shamefully.

"But..."

"I wanted more," he confessed honestly.

"Hell hath no fury like a women scorned, Ben. Don't you know?" she lectured.

He rolled his eyes before he smirked at her, "I wouldn't want more if I were with you."

"No. And you wouldn't," she smirked slightly as she threatened. "Because I'd burn it off if you ever had more than me."

"God, you're feisty," he smiled genuinely. "I should've met you sooner."

She considered it for a moment. Things would've been so different if she had met him sooner.

She smiled slightly and uttered softly like it was a dream, "I would've liked that."

                She ran her fingers over his wrist up to the palm of his open hand on the arm rest. Their chests lit up and he questioned, "What are doing?"

                  She smiled as she entwined her hand with his and the lights got brighter, "We'll practice."

             And they spent the next however many hours on the plane caressing each other's hands until it wasn't a problem anymore.

______

            When they landed in America at the JFK Airport, she had put on a jacket and flipped a hoodie over her head. Ben had questioned why she did that but then he understood as they walked through the airport.

                  People were taking photos of her left and right as walked beside her. She was careful not to brush against him, like uber careful, which he noticed. As they walked, she talked to him.

                "Look, I know you want to get your payback on Payback but...it needs to wait a couple of days," she flashed him a smile and it made his heart pound. "Okay?"

                 He sighed, "Alright, angel."

                "Wait, really?" she said carefully. "You're not gonna go rogue and leave me to go after them?"

                 "Why would I fucking leave you? I'm not crazy."

              She smiled slightly and he brushed his hand across hers.

             On the plane, they had practiced for the long flight. They kept entwining their hands so that way they wouldn't light up at the slightest touch. But both of them could still feel that heat build in their veins like a fire.

             But she flinched her hand away as soon as he did so. She put gave him a nervous smile but he could see the fear in her eyes. He wondered if it had to do with the bruise he pointed out.

               God, he wanted to choke the life out of whoever hurt her. The only thing he was ever good at was creating war. He already held the instinct to protect her so he'd wage war for her, too. He'd kill for her and all the things that hurt.

           (He'd leave the dying to the stupid romance novels as he thought it was too fucking lame to die for someone. He hated that trope because what use was someone if they died? In his mind, why die when you can kill?)

                _____

           Jane rented a convertible.

           She had a bright smile on her face as she practically skipped over to the car. She loved to drive with the top down. To her, it was better than flying because she didn't have to focus as much. Driving was so easy compared to using her powers.

          "It's fucking beautiful when you smile, angel," he commented as they reached the car. She blushed slightly which caused him to smirk.

            "Just a warning: I like to drive fast," she ignored his flirting as he saw a billboard with her face on it.

              It advertised makeup and said: Be pretty like Ivy. She wore a very revealing costume and she had on a flower crown.

            "So you're not just any fucking supe. You're famous," he said with his head tilted up and she looked in that direction.

              She sighed at the billboard before she looked back and teased, "Even more popular than you were."

            "No fucking way," he looked at her in disbelief.

         "Believe it, handsome," she smiled as she got in the car.

           He smirked, "You think I'm handsome?"

          She faltered for a moment, "I...I was merely stating a fact."

          "Yeah, sure, angel," he nodded sarcastically as he got in the car.

            Almost as soon as he closed the door, she revved the gas and the car took off. Ben was pushed back into his seat from the force of it, "Holy shit."

               She whipped the car around the turns as she laughed, "I told you."

                He shook his head as he stared at her. She looked so...free. Like somehow driving removed all the worries and fears she had.

                 And the wind blew through her air as they drove away from the airport and towards an adventure. Eventually, free from all worries of what Homelander would do, she held his hand as she drove.