IT WAS THE FRIDAY OF OPENING NIGHT AND NICKY DEFINITELY WASN'T GOING ON A DATE. He had gotten a text from Sam when he woke up—though it was sent much earlier than when he woke up, so he could only assume the man went jogging, which made him shudder just to think about—the older man asking if he wanted to go out before the choir recital, just go around walking, maybe catch an early dinner. Of course, Nicky, being himself, had responded enthusiastically to the idea, only to spend the next twenty minutes obsessing over exactly what Sam meant by, 'COOL.'

"Rhett," he called out, walking out of his room to the dining table where Rhett was working on a special study plan, "Rhett, I need help."

The blond immediately looked up, concerned until he saw his face. "What's up? Or wrong, though I think you're probably gonna tell me something silly."

"What does he mean by 'COOL'?" the younger man asked, holding out his phone, and Rhett rolled his eyes so hard they might as well have fallen out of his head.

"I'm the last person you should be asking about that," he sighed, "Though, if I had to guess, maybe it's that he thinks your plans are 'cool.' Or, maybe, he's just saying that as a way to let you know he got your response and is giving a positive approval that he will actually somewhat enjoy whatever it is you two will do together."

Nicky blinked. "Why are you talking like that?"

Rhett sighed, rolling his neck. "I'm substituting at the high school? Brooklyn, not Midtown, and a lot of these kids write their essays like that. It's intellectual, but often long winded, it really all depends. Anyways, want me to call Harry to help you dress for your date?"

Nicky furrowed his eyebrows quizzically. "Why do we need to call Harry, can't you help me dress?"

Rhett gave him a wry smile. "Can't you dress yourself?"

Nicky scoffed, shaking his head, and Rhett laughed, rushing to add, "But, really, call the kid, now that he knows about Steve and stuff, I think you should do him a favor and invite him over and maybe he can run into my boyfriend at the same time I decide to invite him over."

Nicky raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Steve in that bet with Sam where he won't go see you unless it's an emergency for the next five days?"

"Yeah, but he's not coming for me, he's coming to make a little boy's day, you said he was Harry's bisexual god or whatever it was, Steve can't pass up the opportunity to raise the spirits of someone like that," Rhett reasoned, but he said it with enough of a whine to let Nicky know that, more than anything, Rhett missed his boyfriend.

"Maybe another time, I'd like to be there to facilitate and maybe take a video," Nicky said with a tired smile, and Rhett stood, crossing his arms, raising his eyebrow in silent question.

Nicky sighed. "I'm just a little out of it right now, I'll get up by the time Sam rolls around. I'm gonna make some lunch, okay?"

Rhett hummed, grabbing his arm as he started to walk away, pulling him back in for a hug. Nicky wondered what this hug was for, as there normally was a reason for them, but he decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and simply relaxed into the hold, closing his eyes and smiling.

But no matter how good he felt, there was still the nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach and the center of his heart that reminded him that he was lying through his teeth.

º º º

"Wait. Your cousin is Bruce Banner? Like. The Bruce Banner?"

Jen rolled her eyes, sighing as she continued to do some digging, Sam leaned against her desk in the tiny cramped room in their already cramped building.

"You won't believe how many times I've heard that," she sighed, "Yes, that Bruce Banner. He's my cousin. No, I don't know where he is or where he's been, but I do know he was also a part of you and your little team of superheroes."

Sam froze, and she laughed. "You think I didn't know? Sam, I do extensive research on the people I work with, even if I can't afford to be picky. Also, you Googled yourself a lot."

He scoffed, mumbling under his breath, "I had to sort out that whole thing back in D.C. with the Veteran's Union."

"I know, and I'm glad you've been granted amnesty from your 'war criminal' status, that must've been difficult," she said, smiling up at him, and he had to wonder if he ever had to hide from her in the first place; so far, she had been the person who had helped him when he was still trying to integrate himself back into society, back out of the war. Again.

"Have you heard from him?" Jen asked softly, "Bruce?"

Sam pursed his lips as he shook his head, heart aching as he watched her otherwise aloof expression change into one of disappointment and pain; she and Bruce had been close, it seemed, and him disappearing had most likely taken a large toll on her.

"Is there anything else we should just lay out on the table before I leave you to it?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood a bit, not wanting her to go back to her work upset.

She shrugged, glancing at him, then to her hands, then to the room around them. "Maybe another time..."

Nodding, though slightly intrigued, Sam headed over towards the door, only to pause and turn on his heel. "So, I'm taking that guy Nicky out today, is early dinner too much, or what?"

Jen gasped, nearly flinging her files off her desk. "Are you going on a date?"

Sam held up his hands, shaking his head. "He is not ready to date yet, let's just be very clear about this, he is not ready yet. But, you know, I'll do my wooing while I wait, let things simmer, you know."

Jen raised an eyebrow, fighting back a smile. "Letting the water boil?"

Sam tutting, shaking his head. "No, no, that's too strong, you just leave it to sit, but don't let it grow cold, keep things interesting, he'll start bubbling soon, but on his own time."

Jen nodded slowly. "Why are we using cooking metaphors? Look, you do what's fun, Sam! I don't think it's too much, we all have to eat, you know? Just don't think too hard about it, have fun, what's the worst that could happen?"

Sam pointed a finger at her. "You see, that's what people always say before something terrible happens."

She scoffed and shooed him out. "Go on and get your work finished so you can have your fun, I need to be boring to be successful. Shoo-shoo."

Sam laughed and stepped out of the room, stopping just before he closed the door behind him. Peering back into the room, he caught Jen's eye, giving her a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Jen."

º º º

Nicky was working on the blueprints for Reed while talking to Hank. For whatever reason, he felt like a modern teenager talking to his friend over Skype while doing his homework. It was an infantilizing thought, but not an entirely unpleasant one.

"We should all hang out sometime," Nicky suggested, "You, me, and Reed. As intellectual friends and not secret work partners."

Hank gave him a small smile. "Yeah, sure. That could be fun. Why're you glancing at the clock, do you have something going on?"

Nicky opened and closed his mouth. "How do you know if something is a date?"

Hank broke into a smile, starting to laugh. "Sorry, Green, I wouldn't really know. You'll figure it out when it happens, I guess."

Nicky sighed. "Some genius you are. Graduated Harvard at 15, wasn't the tuition, like, thirty dollars back then?"

Hank blinked. "How old do you think I am?"

Nicky just scoffed, pushing aside his work and pulling up all his notes and findings about the complex.

It was kind of terrifying, really, to look at it all his work laid out in front of him. There was a kind of horrific beauty to it, just how extensive his searching was. There were pictures and videos, maps and charts, files on the members from the compound, as well as anyone they could have been in contact with, and even just notes of his ramblings that he scanned in the hopes maybe they would all come together.

"Staring at it isn't going to do anything," Hank pointed out, though it was only partly true.

"Doesn't hurt to try," Nicky hummed, unblinking as his eyes scanned over everything, as if something would magically change or appear.

"It does if you have a paying job you need to focus on," the man replied, and Nicky saw his point, so he went back to his blueprints, but left the notes up.

Nicky continued to work for the next few hours, Hank updating him on what he had learned from his students, anything new he saw on his scanners, and often giving in the requested input for certain designs.

It wasn't until Hank had spoken up, asking what time he was supposed to be leaving, when Nicky remembered that he had plans.

Diving for his phone that was on his bed, he found a few missed texts from Sam, the most recent telling him that he was going to be at the loft in about ten minutes.

That had been sent eight minutes ago.

Cursing profusely, Nicky rushed towards his closet, grabbing the clothes that Rhett had helped him pick out. It was a nice printed button up and grey jeans, nothing too flashy, but it wasn't sweatpants and a hoodie.

Hank was watching with an amused expression, laughing when Nicky shrieked, the sound of Sam bursting through the door, calling out for him to get moving.

"Come on, princess, we're losing daylight! If you're not here in ten seconds, I'm leaving without you!"

"Have fun, Green," Hank called out, hanging up as Nicky scrambled for his wallet and his phone, zipping out of his room before Sam could leave, nearly throwing himself at the man.

"Ready to go?" Sam laughed, slinging an arm around Nicky who was gasping for breath, the two men leaving the loft and heading out towards Harlem.

Unbeknownst to Nicky, however, in his rush to get to Sam, he had forgotten to close all his tabs.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Okay, so I'm gonna be honest, I wanted to just have the date just be now so we could get it over with, especially since I don't want to drag this on longer than necessary, since I do have a time limit, but I didn't want this chapter to be overly long, so here we are.

I don't have much to say, so thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!