A PR nightmare?

[guardian]

Guardian only smiled as the door closed in front of him. He'd been in the game too long not to know that blowing his marbles early was bad news – and following a girl into her apartment spelled even worse news. Sometimes it was best to find equal footing, but usually it was best to make things your call, not theirs.

In this case, though, it was more that – as cool as this outfit was – walking around in it was a bit silly. He wanted to get into something more casual, and he'd need the outfit off to put the gear into it. Of course, the thought of walking around in his briefs in Maddy's apartment had appeal – he knew damn well he was a good looking man, and he worked extremely hard on his body.

Still, he was downstairs, changed, and refreshened in no time. He intentionally threw in two hours of nothing to draw out the arrival at her apartment. He didn't want to seem eager.

So, two hours later, he gave her a ring. When she answered, he simply said: “Coming up now,” and went up.

The sun was already on it's way down, and evening had begun. A perfect time for preparations and a beautiful dame.

[maddy]

The television was changing channels again, apparently on its own, but had anyone been watching observantly they would have seen the buttons on the remote depressing every now and again, without any physical touch prompting the action. There was no-one watching, though, observant or not - Maddie was alone in the apartment, and once again she was horribly bored.

It wasn't that Kyle had left her waiting - that didn't bother her in the least, she wasn't waiting on him like a schoolgirl with a crush - it was that she had to remember to stay normal, she couldn't relax and let her guard down since he could be coming at any moment. She'd left her work clothes on, the pencil skirt and the white top, but she'd removed the jacket and let her hair down. Her feet were up on the glass coffee table, her stilettos lying on the floor underneath it, and her bare toes sported red polish matching that on her fingernails.

One hand was in her hair, fingers combing through the red strands, when the phone rang. It came up next to her ear with a thought, opening, and Kyle's voice said that he was on his way up. The phone snapped shut and dropped to the couch immediately, the television channel stopping on a news program.

Madelyne walked to the door, her feet still bare and pleased at the feeling of the carpet beneath. It was a lovely apartment, even if the city didn't have as much to keep her attention. Kyle arrived at the door at the same time as she opened it, and she gave him a smile. "Come on in... What do you feel like for dinner?" She waved vaguely at the kitchen bench, where an assortment of menus were stacked up. The box of gadgets was sitting on her dining table, waiting to be opened, and she strode over and sat down, leaving it for Kyle to take care of. Boys had a tendency to get excited about their new toys.

[guardian]

Kyle entered the apartment, taking a sweeping glance at the décor. He hadn't really been here yet, and thought it quite appropriate for her: Stylish yet organized, tidy, efficient.

He took a look at the menu options, weighing carefully before deciding on Chinese, then took the menu over to the table, sitting across from Maddy. A brief back and forth about what to order occurred, and it seemed Kyle suggested he order. “Technically, you're off the clock right now. So I'll order, it's only fair.”

After ordering, Kyle stretched the suit out across the table, and began to open the box. As expected, he looked exactly like a kid on Christmas.

“So,” he said conversationally, “What does Madelyne Pryor do for fun?”

[maddy]

So. He was deciding what to order, taking charge. Such a man. Her inner monologue couldn't quite tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, and it ended up being a bit of both. Maddie looked at the television, slightly bored, as Kyle made the phonecall to get their dinner delivered. The delivery guy knew where to come - Madelyne wasn't exactly the domestic type, and playing with the molecular structure of food wasn't as fun after the first time.

She couldn't help but smile as he laid out the suit and started pulling out components, and she took the ones that she recognised and put them in the position that they'd eventually be fixed into, making sure that all the pieces were there. His conversational question made her look up at him with eyebrows raised, looking more like she'd been engrossed in the project than trying to figure out how to answer. Men, she thought to herself, though she didn't know that it would be the best thing to say. Not yet.

"Hmmm? Oh, actually I haven't really gotten out and about too much yet, busy and all that. Washington doesn't seem to be as interesting as New York, but maybe I just need someone to show me the good spots." There, that was a suitably cryptic answer.

[guardian]

“Oh every city has it's good spots,” He said, charming smile on his face remarkably effective despite obviously being a token charming smile. “Indeed you'll just need someone to show you around. I've got the names of more than one good tourist company.”

He paused, then laughed.

“Kidding. I'll show you around, absolutely.”

Kyle looked through the instruction booklet, putting pieces where the went and attaching them as he went along. “This is going to be incredible. I'm really excited about tomorrow night... we'll need to find a way to celebrate after the dinner incident. I probably won't be able to go outside, thanks to the paparazzi, but I'm sure we can find some way around that. Any ideas?”

Where was life without a good open-ended suggestion or two?

[maddy]

Raising her eyebrows, Maddie gave Kyle an amused smile. "Oh, I can think of a few things." The smile deepened, but she didn't elaborate. Oh, my, don't tempt me.

"Anyway, are you sure that you want to avoid the papparazi entirely? A few good shots of you could go a long way for our publicity." She looked down at the piece he'd handed her, attaching it to the left thigh. He fished the last piece out of the box and attached it, and Madelyne inspected their work carefully before turning to him with a smile.

"Looks good. Want to try it back on, make sure nothing's poking in the wrong place, or looks funny? Bedroom's over there." She pointed to the open door, thinking for a moment how much of a shame it was that she couldn't go in there with him. Thankfully, there was a knock on the door to distract her, and she grabbed her purse to pay for the takeout. Smiling at the delivery boy, Madelyne cleared the packaging off the table back into the box, remembering almost too late to use her hands and not her mind. It's so slow!

[guardian]

Kyle smiled. Oh yeah, Maddy wanted to put the P back in PA alright. Goddam she was sexy too, she even carried herself in a sexy way. The woman radiated sexiness like it was a perfume.

Hmmm, maybe she's got on some sort of pheremone? There are perfumes like that.

“Good call, actually... maybe we'll go out, hit up a concert or something, and let the paparazzi soak it up. Then we come back, and find a way to celebrate. A bottle of champagne, something.”

Because it was SO not obvious what they could do.

He took the suit and strolled into the other room. “Still fits perfectly, you can hardly tell it's decked out with technology... this is incredible!”

[maddy]

"Sounds like a plan." God, but it was tempting. Leaving the dinner on the table, she wandered into the bedroom to take a look.

"You look good, Kyle." He did. Certainly had the figure to be wearing something so fitting, at any rate. Madelyne couldn't help but wonder just how often he worked out. And if she could help him with a ... different kind of workout. Some of the attraction touched her eyes, for just a moment, and she smiled at him standing there in front of her bed.

Maybe you can come back in here tomorrow night. Mmmm.

"Dinner's here." As much as she wanted to stand there and watch him change, she returned to the main room, fetching some cutlery in case he used it, and opening the fridge.

"You want a drink? I've got beer, wine, bourbon. Or, you know, juice, water, soda, that kind of thing." Nothing that necessarily went with chinese, but at least she had plenty of options.

[guardian]

Kyle was out of the outfit and into his dress casual in a flash, and came out buttoning his shirt. “With Chinese… hmm… some wine, maybe?”

He carefully laid the outfit across the back of the couch, and sat down at the table looking at an instruction booklet.

“I can’t believe half the crap they put in this thing… I’m walking around with the world’s smallest radio shack strapped to my body.” He chuckled. “It’s great.”

Finally putting the instructions away, he looked up at his PA as she was pouring them drinks.

“So you gonna be watching the news tomorrow ‘round lunchtime?”

[maddy]

Looking up over the wine glasses to see Kyle buttoning his shirt, Maddie let herself have a moment for her eyes to wander. He seemed distracted. That was good. Turning around so that he couldn't see, she snuck in a quick use of her power to get the cork out of the bottle.

Smiling at his pronouncement that he was a walking Radio Shack, Maddie start pouring and wandered over toward the table.

"Of course. As much as I'd love to be there for your debut, I'm sure I'd only get in the way." Besides, if the plan was still what she'd gleaned, anything slightly out of the ordinary could make people sceptical. The conspiracy theorists would have a field day. No, it was better that she just observe from her apartment like the rest of the world.

"You'll be back here after lunch then? I might go shopping, get something nice to wear if we do go out." She was struck by a sudden thought that if Guardian appeared attached, they could lose a key demographic. Did she care? She wanted to have fun, but part of her job was making sure that he looked good.

"Maybe I'll just have to see you back here. What if they think that you and I are...?" She took another sip of her wine, red lips wrapping around the glass below smiling eyes. "We could lose some of our young female viewers."

[guardian]

Kyle paused, considering. Finally he nodded. “Too true. Want to run on the single bit as long as possible… eventually I’ll get together with someone that’ll get the tabloids buzzing. For now, though, single. So we’ll need to celebrate indoors, here or my place.”

The idea that they could simply do something separately wasn’t even mentioned.

[maddy]

"What woman is good enough for Guardian?" Madelyne mused. It would probably be the kind of thing that would require more careful planning with the ad execs. "She's going to have to be really special to match up to you."

She sat silently for a while, eating her chinese. "I suppose it'll need to be planned out carefully and all of that, but... What about another superhero type? If there are any, that is."

She couldn't help it. She really liked the suit.

[guardian]

He listened to her take, slowly eating the delicious take out. It seemed the Chinese was a good idea – this was some good ass Chinese.

“A female superhero?” he mused, tapping his fork on his chin. “That could work – but where the hell would we find someone good enough to run with Guardian? Secondly, how would we convince her that I’m not a sham, and thirdly, how do you even organize a search like that? I suppose we could try to sweet talk someone out of the X-Men, like that Weather Girl, or whatever her name is… but I doubt it’d work.”

[maddy]

"Storm, I think. I don't know, we'll see what happens. Just an idea, anyway, but I might have some contacts." She wondered for a moment if an actress from a super hero film would do the trick. No, probably not. And she certainly didn't want Kyle dating a model - she didn't think she could deal with that. Although the irony would be delicious if he started dating a supermodel.

"I'm sure it'll all get sorted out in time." Maddie's attention turned back to her dinner and her wine. Draining the glass, she caught herself just as she was about to lift the bottle without hands.

"More wine?" It was starting to get dangerous. She actually felt comfortable around him, and she was sure that after a few drinks she'd start to forget entirely. Careful, Madelyne.

[guardian]

Kyle ate and drank too, holding out his glass. He was a big guy, big enough to be a football player or pro wrestler, and ate and drank accordingly.

“Yeah, I’m sure it will – though the idea is still sound. Keeping Guardian single is still the best idea for now. Let him get out there, establish himself.”

He washed down some food with more wine, very neat with how he handled it, despite the quantity, and then grinned.

“Hmmm, going to be hard to fool around with anyone though. Probably be under surveillance all the time, even without the reality show. Just from the media. I’ll have limited contact with the outside world, aside from my staff.” He quirked an eyebrow at the pun and potential joke, but didn’t take it. “Going to be somewhat lonely for a bit. Going to have to stay indoors. Good thing you’re in my building.”

[maddy]

Mr Kennedy! She raised her eyebrows and gave him another one of those smiles. "I'm sure Guardian will never be lacking for company." There was something slightly amusing about the way he referred to his hero persona in the third person. Madelyne let her mind wander for an idle moment, wondering what her hero name would be. It seemed to be all the rage with mutants, though she'd never been given one, nor had she thought to give herself one.

What would they call me anyway? Moves-stuff Girl? Though she was well aware that her abilities went beyond simply moving things, all the way to being able to seperate the molecules of an object completely with a thought, there was no word associations that she could think of to draw an interesting name from.

Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the fact that they were in her apartment. Maybe she was just losing her touch over time. Whatever the cause of it, as soon as Madelyne turned the television off with her mind, she froze. She blinked for a few moments, frantically searching for a plausible explanation.

"Stupid timer. Turns off when I'm watching long movies sometimes." She stood, walked to the table, and picked up the remote. "Did you want it back on, or...?"

[guardian]

Kyle bit his tongue as soon as the words were out of his mouth. He’d meant the two thoughts separately – one that fooling around was going to be difficult. The second that it was fortunate they were in the same building, to avoid the thought they were together. It was clear that she’d take it to mean the same… though true, it made him look less smooth than he preferred. Still, she didn’t look upset. If nothing else, she looked amused… maybe glad?

The TV turned off. He turned around and looked at it, then back at her. He shrugged. “Nah, maybe put it on a music channel I suppose.”

Odd. TV timer’s usually warned you with annoying blinking letters… maybe she didn’t notice.

Still, the gears were slowly turning in Kyle’s head...

[maddy]

Nodding, Madelyne was careful to press the button on the remote - something that she almost never did. She pushed in the numbers for one of the music channels and put the remote down again carefully.

She sat back down and poured them both another wine. She didn't want to leave half a bottle in her fridge, but she was well aware that she was starting to become very relaxed. Probably too relaxed. She concentrated on finishing the rest of her dinner for a few minutes before pushing the rest of the food aside and looking at him again over the rim of her wine glass.

"I suppose you'll need to go get some sleep soon, be well rested for the big day." She smiled again, amusement written all over her face. "Can't have Guardian yawning for the press, can we?"

[guardian]

He nodded, a look of reluctance in his eyes. She had a point, though – had he any more of this wine and one of them would be out of their clothes soon. And if he intended to actually have a functioning, working relationship here … well, maybe sleeping with her tonight would just be plain too fast. At least give it… ohh… one more night. At least tomorrow he could blame the excitement over the project’s success. Right?

“Good thinking… going to need to be up and alert. Tomorrow’s the day. The big day.” He grinned, already helping her pick up the mess of the Chinese food. He made a mental note to pay her extra this week for picking up the tab here, and asked her if she wanted the leftovers.

Soon enough he was headed to the door, Guardian suit, all geared up, resting neatly in a suitcase.

He looked back to her. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning, before I head to the power lunch. Thanks for dinner.”

[maddy]

Unable to ignore his thoughts - which made her mouth quirk into a half smile - Madelyne thanked him and put the leftovers into the fridge, bending over as she did so to afford him a nice view.

She walked to the door and looked up at him with carefully controlled features. She considered teasing him, but thought that it could be much more fun to just string him out and pretend to be oblivious. If I can manage.

"Not a problem. I'll hear from you in the morning, then." She smiled up at him, her head tilted up slightly as if she was going to kiss him. Obviously, she hadn't been able to resist.

"Good night, Kyle." Still smiling, Maddie turned and walked back into her room.