Kasey lifted the hand—your hand—inspecting it as though he expected to find something unsavory. His expression remained blank, a trademark of his apparently. While his fans, a smaller group than The Crusaders (his hero agency) wanted, loved it, others didn’t. Kasey wasn’t good in front of cameras or during interviews. He didn’t even necessarily freeze up, it was just so uncomfortable. Why did he need to be asked a million questions because he tackled a burglar while he was invisible? He did it because it was the right thing to do; he managed to stop them because he quite literally turned invisible. There were never any new questions.

That mindset was more than likely the reason you were here, stuck with him as you walked down the busy streets of Initium City. Obviously there were guards—a bit pointless considering the both of you were Enhanced—to keep the fans from grabbing you or him. Yes, because it was totally believable for two heroes to just want to have a date at the busiest time of day. Sure. Kasey could already see the headlines.

Up And Coming Hero Blur Seen On a Date With Another Hero!? And that was if they talked about him at all. The Crusaders had paired him with you for a reason, after all. You were one of the most popular heroes they had at the moment.

When Frostbite retired from New Vision—another hero agency—seven years ago, the hero industry nearly collapsed in on itself. Sure, heroes retired eventually, but Seong-Su, Frostbite, had literally built the industry on his back. He made it popular, and everyone was certain, including Kasey, that he wouldn’t retire until he was old and withering away. Then one day, out of the blue, he was announced to be retired and faded from public eye. Hero agencies scrambled to recreate the image of Frostbite for themselves. Reality competition TV shows like Heroes of Tomorrow became more popular in an attempt at finding more heroes. Kasey had come first during one season, securing his spot as a hero at fourteen. That was eight years ago, however, and his popularity hadn’t spiked much since.

New Vision and The Crusaders fought over Enhanced while a new agency, Sweet Entertainment, had sprung up out of nowhere. Then The Crusaders stumbled upon, their new golden goose: you. Kasey was both impressed and jealous, if he was being honest. The Crusaders put so much time into shaping your image they neglected the rest of their heroes. Not that Kasey minded too much. He liked his job, but he’d hate to be as scrutinized as you were.

His manager, though, had other plans. Plans that involved increasing Kasey’s hero ranking by faking dating you. His manger had convinced The Crusader’s executives that Kasey had potential, that the name Blur could be a household one if they just gave him time. Kasey didn’t even like his hero name. The only reason he hadn’t argued about it was because he didn’t want to be called something asinine like Invisible Man.

“Are you a vegetarian?” he asked, letting your hand fall back to your side. He kept holding it. Better for views. Kasey could see someone recording the two of you out of the corner of his eyes. “Because we’re going to a steak house. Would kinda suck if you didn’t, you know, eat meat.” He wasn’t going to change his entire routine around just to play boyfriend. Kasey was a regular at this steakhouse, they loved him. Even had his photocards (that he’d signed, obviously) up on the walls.

“That guy has a shirt of your face,” he commented blandly, walking beside you. “It looks like you’re mid-sneeze. I should get one.”