"Fucking finally... regular clothes."
The way I groaned those words made me question my own sanity. I was used to wearing a gi, robes, tunics and pants, and other lower quality clothing due to my long stay on Axios. My current attire of a grey sweatshirt that I left unzipped, a white t-shirt underneath, and regular blue jeans made me feel like nobility. I finished the set with some black tennis shoes, and I checked myself over in the dressing room I was currently in.
"Damn. I don't really look at myself that much, but I am pretty large. These clothes barely fit." I said, but Victoria was buying them for me, so I couldn't be too upset. She even had me go and get measured for some custom made clothes while we were here, and she said after this she was going to take me to get a new phone, "She's still the same sweet
As I stepped out of the dressing room, Victoria and my mom stood there waiting for me. They both stared at me. Yeah, with the big ass hospital gown, and then the baggy clothes the staff gave me until I went and got something new, they really hadn't had a chance to check out how I looked now that I was back... or as far as they knew, awake.
"Gideon..." My mom said, "This is still so strange to see."
Before we had been allowed to leave the hospital, we had to sit and talk to doctors while I was examined a few more times. Doctors Weston had explained to them the changes in my body, and the hypothesis of me gaining a late blooming power. Of course, they were curious, so I had showed them some of my new and improved physique, mainly my arms and torso. The two women had gasped and stared at me, and Victoria's gaze upon my body had not been subtle, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the attention.
Currently, said woman was tracking every inch of my body, her cheeks turning a faint pink color as she quite literally drank me in with her eyes. After a moment, she cleared her throat.
"Ahem. Giddy," She said, her face turning red now as she realized what she had called me, but she soldiered on, "I want you to rest, and get used to being up and around again. I can't tell you how happy it makes me. That being said, what do you plan to do... regarding this?" She asked, gesturing at my body as a whole.
I just grinned at her.
"Thank you, Vicky." I said, and she full on blushed now, and that made my smile even more, "Both of you didn't give up on me, and it means everything to me, but especially you. You spent your own money to keep me alive, and I'll do everything I can to make it up to you, and show you how grateful I am."
My mom smiled wide at me, while Victoria continued blushing, but her smile was just as wide.
"That being said, I want to chase my dream. Once I'm settled, I'm going to the Hero Association, and I'll be taking their tests. I have a promise to keep, after all." I said, looking meaningfully at Victoria.
Her blush had stared to fade, but my words caused it to flare back up with renewed vigor. I even saw moisture gathering in her eyes. She probably thought I gave up or had forgotten. Sure, once upon a time, that was true, but no longer. Once Victoria had composed herself enough, she looked at me.
"That's... wonderful." She said, sending me a bright smile, "But... we don't even know what kind of powers you have. You're look strong, but we can't be too sure." She said, looking worried. I just smiled wide at her.
"Don't worry, my gut is telling me that whatever power I have, it's pretty strong." I said, confidence oozing from me.
While I wouldn't necessarily hide my strength, I wasn't keen on showing people everything I could do. Criminals and Villains kept up with heros, afterall, and showing all of your cards was never a good thing. Many of my masters had drilled that into me. I didn't think anyone would be able to do anything to me on Earth, but you never really knew. Better safe than sorry, and all that.
We soon left the clothing store, and went to a phone shop that was right down the road. Victoria bought me the most expensive phone with the most expensive plan they had, and I grimaced at the price of everything. It was just shy of 4 grand. Although, that just proved that there was another reason to be a hero besides helping people. It obviously paid super fucking well, and the stronger heros got paid even more. Another reason not to hide all of my strength. Yes, I wanted to help people, but I also wanted a fat bank account. I could also take care of my mom so she could just rest and relax in peace.
"You're really going above and beyond for me." I said to Victoria once we were seated in the back of her luxury car once again. She was seated next to me on my right, while my mom was on the left of me.
"I want to." She said, and then she leaned her head into my shoulder, "But I'm going to have some words with you once we get to your house."
Oh man, those were never the words you wanted to hear from a woman. The feeling of her against me was nice though, so I just put an arm around her, and gently rubbed her shoulder, causing her to rub her cheek into my shoulder.
My mom told me about things she had been up to as we were driven home, from her job working at her marketing firm, to her different hobbies around the house. Victoria just kept silent while I conversed with my mom, allowing me time to catch up with her. That also allowed me to admire this expensive ass car in more detail as I listened to my mom.
Victoria had so much money that she didn't even have to drive herself around anymore. Granted, she could fly, so she didn't have to at all, but she was being considerate to me and my mom. She had no idea I could also fly using my Ki. She'd learn what I could do soon enough, and I was still contemplating whether or not I should tell either of them the full truth. Maybe, but not right now. I needed a big dose of Earth normal for a good while.
We soon reached my old home, a modest building in a well off neighborhood just outside of the city. Many of the buildings were made of the same guady white, but my mom's home stood out with her various decorations, flower gardens, and ornaments on the lawn and hanging from the house. It was very well taken care of. We got out, Victoria telling her driver he could leave, and then we proceeded inside.
As I walked inside, nostalgia hit me like a truck. I slipped off my shoes, and just walked around the home I hadn't been inside for over 100 years, at least, not for me. Once I got inside the living room, I walked over to the couch in the middle, and plopped my ass on down. Victoria joined me, sitting next to me, while my mom took the chair across from us.
"It looks the same... it's nice." I said, smiling as I took in the decor, namely the framed family photos. It was all I had that showed me what my father looked like. We looked pretty damn similar now, given my age.
"Gideon." Victoria said, her voice firm, and my gaze snapped to her, and her eyes were a mix of emotions, "I'm going to talk right now, and you're going to listen."
"Yes ma'am." I said, although I'd being lying if I said the look in her eyes didn't scare me, and that's coming from a dude who fought 5 Gods at once. She blinked at me, looking a little taken aback, before she regained herself, and her eyes hardened.
"10 years, Gideon. For 10 years, you basically ignored me, kept your distance from me, and left me thinking I had done something wrong. That hurt me, Gideon, but even still, I didn't want to give up on you..." She said.
Immediately, guilt tore at my insides, because she was right, but the fact that she thought she did something wrong was what hurt the most. Still, I honored her wishes, and just kept quiet for now. I'd fix this, and I would never make her feel like that again.
"I didn't care if you had powers or if you were a hero... people either develop powers or they don't... it's never something I cared about. All I've ever cared about was that it was you, Gideon..." She said, the moisture in her eyes now leaking down her face, "And then I saw you in that store... with that villain's attack coming right at you. I wasn't fast enough, and then... I heard what you said...and then I thought you died. After so long, I finally seen you again, and then... you were taken away again... and I felt like I messed up all over again... and I couldn't even tell you how I feel."
She went from crying to full on sobbing and I experienced my first real heartache in a long time. Fuck, I was a real piece of shit. I reached for the tissues on the coffee table in front of us and grabbed one. I gently, I cupped her chin, and wiped the tears away with the tissue. She blinked at me several times.
"Vicky... I'm sorry." I said, grabbing more tissues to wipe away at the fresh tears that kept falling, "Ever since the day you discovered your powers, I felt like... like I didn't deserve to be your friend. Like, if I couldn't match you, or keep up with you, that I was a failure. I didn't want to burden you, or hold you back, and I was ashamed of myself, and embarrassed that I couldn't keep the promise I made to you. So... I stayed away. I realize now how stupid I was, and I hurt one of the most important people in my life."
As I spoke, more tears fell from her face, her mouth open as she sobbed. I went from wiping at her tears to just pulling her into me and hugging her tightly. The way she gripped at me was all the confirmation I needed, and I cursed myself once again.
"Vicky, I messed up. I'm an idiot for pushing you away, and I can only hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I plan on making good on my promise, and what I said to you... if you'll let me. I'll never hurt you again, and this time, I'm here to stay." I said.
Victoria suddenly lifted her head, and pressed her lips to mine with such ferver that mind brain momentarily shut off. My eyes widened, but I didn't pull away. Soon, I was wrapping my arms around her shoulders, and kissing her back. She soon pulled her lips off of mine, and all I could do was stare into her eyes as she stared into mine.
"I never cared about any of that, Gideon. Not once... not a day went by that I didn't think about you." She said, her ice blue eyes staring into my very being, "I'll forgive you for thinking like that, if you forgive me for not being able to save you."
I wanted to argue that she literally did nothing wrong, but I knew women well enough to know that agreeing would be easier, and plus... the look she was giving me made me feel a warmth inside of me that I had been missing.
"All is forgiven, then." I said, and she smiled as she wrapped me in a hug again.
"And by the way... what you said... I've always felt that way." She said, and that definitely made my heart race a lot fucking faster.
The sounds of sniffles caught our attention, and that brought our attention to my mom, who sat silently in her chair, and was currently wiping at her eyes with a tissue.
"That was so sweet... I've been waiting for a long time to see that. You two were always so close." She said, and then looked sternly at me, "You never told me why you were acting the way you were. If you did, I would have smacked you upside the head a long time ago."
I just laughed, and Victoria joined me a moment later. I missed out on so much... the 10 years I spent staying away from Victoria were years I couldn't get back. That was time that I could have spent with her, seeing where life would have taken us. Still, would I have still been sent to Axios if I hadn't made that choice. I was so much more now than I ever was. I had a 2nd chance to actually be with Victoria, to make a difference in this world, and to kick serious bad guy ass. I looked at my mom and at her smiling face, and then at Victoria's flushed face, and for the first time in a long time, I was content, I was happy, and I was home.
"Say, Vicky, once I have some money, I'd be honored if you'd let me take you out sometime." I said, and the wide smile she gave me, followed by the tight hug, told me that my life was about to get a whole lot better moving forward.