Landon Kirby (mopheadedhobbit) wrote in somerealityrpg, @ 2020-01-29 19:22:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | active: hope mikaelson, inactive: landon kirby |
WHO: Landon Kirby and Hope Mikaelson
WHERE: Elena and Damon's, then Landon's apartment
WHEN: After they put Mikael away
WARNINGS: Nah
SPOILERS? Legacies 2x8
As soon as Hope had gotten the message from Morgan that her device wouldn’t be ready until the morning, she’d started firing off texts. The first was to Landon to keep him up-to-date in the hopes of not worrying him. She knew that was a futile hope, but it was better than being silent in the face of her inability to go home that night. The bulk of her time that night was spent alternating spells quickly enough that he couldn’t get used to what she was doing to him to break free and pissing him off enough that he wasn’t interested in chasing down anyone else.
When the box was finally finished, Hope was more than ready to end this.
Thirty minutes later, she was at Damon and Elena’s door, giving them a perfunctory greeting as she pushed into the apartment in search of Landon. Dried blood over now-unblemished skin and some rips in her clothes were the only real evidence of what she’d been through, but she’d been true to her promise. He hadn’t landed any blows even half as bad as the one earlier yesterday. “Landon?” Exhaustion was written across every line of her body but she was still alert enough to search for him, wanting to see for herself that he was okay. That she could let other people handle things for the moment and take a break.
---
Landon had basically been pacing all day. He hated that he couldn’t help, that he couldn’t be out there with Hope. But he also knew that he wasn’t exactly hero material and would probably just get in the way if he tried to help. So even with Damon and Elena trying to distract him, he kept jumping up and pacing, checking his phone again and again, taking a deep breath every time he got one from Hope.
He’d had a few uncomfortable moments of sleep, filled with nightmares and worry, but hadn’t really gotten any rest. He was too worried, his mind too full of thoughts of the horrible things that could happen to Hope that he couldn’t stop from happening.
But when he heard her voice, he leapt up and before he knew it, he’d wrapped her in his arms.
“You’re okay,” he whispered in her ear. “You’re okay.”
***
She wasn’t sure if his words were for her, him, or both of them, but as soon as she tucked her face into his neck and wrapped her arms around his middle she felt the truth of them. She was safe now. Mikael was locked up and as long as she didn’t leave, nothing else bad was going to touch them.
“I hate when this place gets like this.” Memories of fighting Kai Parker in the maze came back like it had been yesterday. Goodland always found a way to make it personal. She’d been too confident when it first started, taking out random bush-league baddies with ease. Mikael had taken care of that misplaced confidence. But she didn’t want to think about it.
“Are you okay?”
---
“I’m fine now,” he said. “I mean, I just kind of sat here and played board games with Damon and Elena.” He felt a little bad about that, honestly. He hated that he’d been here safe and doing nothing while Hope risked her life. But, that was his place. She was the fighter. He wasn’t. And he was going to have to get used to it.
“Is it all over? Nobody else is going to try to hurt you? No other terrifying grandfathers?”
Maybe sometimes it was good not to have family.
***
“Mom was adopted by Muggles so I think we’re safe from any other grandfathers.” Grandmothers, on the other hand… or great aunts… Without realizing it she sagged against his chest. The thought of going back out there right now was exhausting.
“But no, I don’t think there’s anything else out there that other people can’t take care of.” Mikael was a special case. He was her family, so he was her problem. Tilting her head up to look at him, there was a false brightness in her voice. “Did you know I’m an abomination?” Another thing added to the long list of Things Wrong with Hope Mikaelson.
---
“Oh, definintely, yeah,” he said, shaking his head solemnly. “I’ve known that for a while. But I happen to like abominations.” He grinned at her slightly. “I’m kind of one too. Maybe that’s part of why we work.” It was still hard to imagine that his father was a muck pit in Georgia. He didn’t even want to know how that worked, or what it said for his future.
“That means you can stay here with me and not go risk your life anymore? Gotta say I’m glad about that. Maybe I can finally get some sleep. As long as you’re there.”
***
His teasing softened the sharp corners of her grandfather’s ranting and Hope rewarded him with a grin that lit up her whole face as she teased him back. “Oh, yea, that’s definitely got to be part of it.”
She’d be lying if she said part of her didn’t want to be out there. Fixing things. Putting them right. But between staying up all night casting spells and the physical efforts of healing herself back from such a terrible injury, she was tapped out. Useless in a fight with anyone, even herself. Slowly, her brain caught up to what he was saying. Frowning, she reached up to gently cup his face. “You didn’t sleep?”
---
“I mean, I dozed. On and off. I couldn’t really though because I was too worried about you.” He wasn’t ashamed or afraid to admit that. He’d always - well, usually, anyway - been honest about how he felt with her and it was something they were really trying to do. Lies had gotten in the way far too many times.
“I just wanted to know you were safe, you know? Sure, you’re kickass and strong, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t worry.”
***
Well, she was less than thrilled about that. Luckily, neither of them had anywhere to be as far as she knew. Taking his hand, she turned to the closest door and pushed it cautiously. The room beyond was empty except for the basic furniture they all got. “C’mon.” She tugged him gently inside and shut the door, sealing out the rest of the world.
“It was close,” she admitted quietly, pushing her hair back. Honesty, right? Even though she didn’t want him to worry more. “He knew how to get around my magic, broke my skull on the side of a building.” Tears filled her eyes—she was overtired. Saying it out loud felt like admitting some kind of failure, even though she’d taken him down eventually. Her hands dropped to the blood-soaked hole in her shirt. “Then he got a sword at some point while I was out of it.”
---
At the idea of her skull being broken, Landon’s face paled. Then when she showed him the hole from the sword he made a little noise of distress and reached forward to touch it. “Well, I would have died twice,” he said, trying to keep a bit of levity in his voice for no other reason than he thought he might collapse if he didn’t. “Looks like I was right to worry.” Hope was strong, sure. Really strong. But she was mortal, and the right injury could take her from him forever. He didn’t want to think about that.
He turned and sat rather heavily on the bed, staring into the darkness for a moment.
“Is it always going to be this way for us?”
***
Reaching out to Landon, Hope changed her mind at the last minute and balled her hands into fists. This felt like the kind of thing that might be a dealbreaker. Like maybe he wouldn’t want her to touch him anymore when it was all over. She dropped into a crouch and tried to catch his eye, get him to focus on her. “I don’t know. It might be? I … It didn’t feel right to unleash him on people who didn’t know what he was capable of. I have all of this power, if I don’t use it to help when I can…”
But she’d broken him. That wasn’t helping, to break the person she was in love with. “I can try to stop if that’s what you want.”
---’
“No, I mean, I get it,” he said. “I totally get it. I understand why you have to do the things you do. I get why you had to fight him. Sure, sure, I get it.” He paused, seeing for the words that he wanted to say. It wasn’t always easy.
“I just mean...am I always going to have to worry about you getting killed? Is it always going to be me sitting here hoping and hoping that you’re going to come home in one piece? Are we ever going to have just...a normal life? Peace?”
***
Normal. She didn’t even know what that meant. From the moment she’d existed, she’d been wrapped up in this world of violence and bloodshed. It may have let up on occasion but it was always there waiting. She forgot sometimes that it hadn’t always been like this for him. “I don’t know. But I know there will be moments of peace. There will be normal days, really good ones, if not normal years. But … neither of us can turn off what we are. And we’re not normal. The crazy things will still find us.”
---
He nodded, looking down at his hands where they lay on his lap. Until the last year or so, his life had been...normal. Not necessarily good, but...normal. He’d just been a foster kid, and his biggest problems had been the bullies in HIgh School. The past year had been crazy, but it also hadn’t been bad. He’d met Hope. He’d made friends. He’d found a home. Sure, weirdness had come along with it, but really, well, he wasn’t going to go back to the way things were before.
“I guess that’s the cost,” he said carefully. “Of all the good things we have by being together. And knowing what we are.”
***
“I won’t go out again while this is happening,” she promised, covering his hands with one of hers. The way she felt right now, it was possible she’d sleep through the rest of it anyway, but just in case. She could make this promise to save him some worry.
“This place is weird, but it’s not always a bad weird. We’re both here now, and nothing’s happened to me that hasn’t been fixed,” physically, at least. “It’s not such a bad cost, is it?”
---
“No,” he replied. “And I’d go through a lot more to be with you.” Hope was the best thing that ever happened in his life. He never thought he’d find a girl who he loved as much as he loved her, and who loved him in return. That was the weirdest part to him.
“Just stay here with me tonight? Let me know you’re okay. I’ll feel better after some rest. I’m sure I will.”
***
Hope flashed him a warm smile, nodding. “There’s nowhere else I want to be. I think we’ll both feel a lot better after we sleep.” She could feel her body starting to shake and withdrew her hand before he could, too, standing to put a bit more distance between them. “Do you care what I sleep in? Because I don’t think I can stand this shirt.” Even before he’d answered she was peeling it off. It was crunchy with dried blood and she’d honestly prefer to incinerate it. But she also didn’t want to leave this room to ask to borrow something.
---
Landon stood quickly and went to the dresser, looking through it. They weren’t his clothes, of course, but he was pretty sure that whoever they belonged to wouldn’t mind as long as they put them in the washing machine the next morning.
He threw her a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.
“Will these do?”
***
Toeing out of her boots, she caught the clothes in mid-air. Not that Hope had a lot of experience with teenage boys, but she was pretty sure most of them would be looking for ways to get their girlfriends in less clothes, not more. He wanted her to be comfortable and safe more than he wanted in her pants, and it made her heart swell. “You really are the sweetest,” she grinned and crossed the room to give him a quick kiss.
---
Oh, Landon wanted to see her in less clothes, there was no doubt about that. But not now. Not like this. Not when they were both feeling so exhausted and vulnerable. He just wanted to hold her and assure himself that everything was okay. He wanted her to be comfortable, and for the pain to go away. This was hardly a time to think about getting in her pants.
He kissed her back, then returned to the bed.
“Do you need anything to eat? Anything I can do?”
***
Once she’d gotten dressed in her borrowed clothes, there was nothing left to occupy her hands and hide how they were trembling. She settled for crossing them over her body as she shook her head at his question. “Are you hungry?” She could wait if he wanted to eat, but the only thing she really needed at this point was sleep and him. Preferably at the same time.
---
He shook his head. He didn’t feel like doing anything except holding Hope and sleeping. They could eat later. He stretched out on the bed and patted the empty place next to him.
“Join me?”
***
Nodding, she was moving to climb into the bed before he was even done speaking. Tucking herself against him, she couldn’t hide her shaking or the way her teeth chattered, but at leasts she was on the way to feeling safe again. Resting her cheek on his chest, she pressed the full length of her body to his, tangling this legs together. She just needed as much contact as possible. “Is this okay?”
---
Landon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close to him as he could. He could feel her shaking and he hated that. He hoped that the contact would help, that she’d know she was safe here with him. “It’s perfect.” He wanted to tell her she was safe, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. And he definitely would do his best to make sure that happened. But...when it came down to it she was a lot stronger than he was.
***
“I thought you might end things,” she murmured, safe in his arms and behind her closed eyes. “Because … of everything.” He still had time to find a normal girl and have a normal life where he didn’t have to worry she was in the process of getting herself killed.
---
“Never,” he said. He was pretty sure that if they ever broke up, he wouldn’t be the one to do it. She was everything to him, and while they did argue sometimes, they always made up in the end. He needed to stop running. He knew that. But here, that was harder to do so hopefully he wouldn’t be as tempted.
“Everything...sucks,” he said. “I hate that you put yourself in danger. But it’s part of who you are.”
***
“I am always going to fight to come back to you for as long as I have you. Okay?” She couldn’t hold back a massive yawn, settling against him more deeply afterwards. “But ‘m also not gonna fight…” She’d moved past shaking into loose, heavy limbs, but she was still fighting sleep just to be able to spend more time with him. “Don’ go.”
---
He wasn’t sure exactly what she was trying to say, but he chalked it up to her exhaustion and figured that it didn’t really matter. She was here, she was safe, and they were together. That was all he needed right now.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly. “Just sleep, okay? I’ll be here when you wake up. I promise.”
***
Hope was already deeply asleep before he got to his promise, a sleep that lasted over twelve hours. It was disorienting to wake up and have it still be dark outside, but she felt rested in a way that had been eluding her for a long time. No dreams, no waking up, just solid hours of sleep. Carefully lifting her head, she looked up to see if Landon was still sleeping or if he was dying to get out of the bed but didn’t want to wake her.
---
Landon had awakened before Hope had, but he’d drifted off to sleep again before she woke up. At the moment, he was sound asleep, looking and feeling quite peaceful. When she started moving around, though, his eyes fluttered open sleepily, and he smiled at her.
“Told you I’d be here when you woke up,” he grinned. “How are you feeling?”
***
“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He’d looked so peaceful for, like, one second. She wanted that for him all the time.
He’d kept his promise, too. Not that she thought he wouldn’t, but it was comforting for her after everything else that happened. Placing a hand on his chest, she rested her chin on top and grinned back at him, nothing but happiness and love in her expression. “I feel great. How did you sleep?”
---
“Well, after I got used to my arm falling asleep….” He grinned, playfully. He was teasing her, hoping that he could get another smile out of her. Those didn’t come nearly frequently enough for his taste. “No,” he said after a minute. “I slept great. I always do when you’re here.” He paused. “But now I’m starving, so can we like, get food?”
He was a teenage boy, after all.
***
Flushing pink, she was laughing as she twisted to give said arm a kiss. “What a terrible sacrifice.” Sitting up, she tried to arrange her face into something resembling a somber expression, but her eyes were too bright with contained laughter.
“I’m sure Damon’s got something for everyone, unless you want to check the fridge upstairs?” Going out was not going to happen until this vindictive entity left, probably.
---
“Doesn’t matter to me, as long as it’s food.” He sat up just after she did, stretching a little. He’d actually been warm and cozy with Hope there all night and had no complaints. It was like she belonged there with him, and he’d love to keep her there night after night.
“You feel like socializing, or like raiding the kitchen?”
***
“I feel like taking a shower and brushing my teeth while you do the caveman thing and bring food back to wherever we’re going to end up.” She felt gross and not at all like looking at other people who knew what she’d been doing out there. “If that’s alright?” He’d have some time to socialize if he wanted to, but she wouldn’t have to. Best of all worlds, right?
---
“Sure, works for me,” he said. He got up and headed towards the door, figuring he’d talk to Damon and Elena and let them know that she was okay while she took her shower and got dressed, then he’d bring food back to their room...well, the room, and they could eat it together while they stayed safe. That sounded good to him.
“I’ll be back, okay? I’ll let everyone know you’re okay.”
***
It was a relief knowing that Landon understood her. “Thank you. I love you.” She waited until he was gone before she left the warmth of the bed, grabbing a fresh shirt and shorts from the dresser and then heading to the bathroom. The mirror was fully steamed over by the time she was done scrubbing herself pink, removing the dried blood as well as the memories. Borrowing the supplied toothbrush and paste was the last step to a whole new Hope, and she emerged from the bathroom with her hair damp and absolutely starving.
---
Landon had heard the shower go off, and made his way back to the bedroom just in time for her to come out, all cleaned up. He had several plates of food - doughnuts, fruit, little link sausages, juice, laid out on the nightstand.
“I grabbed a little of everything. And I told Damon and Elena that you were okay.”
***
Rearranging the plates, Hope ended up with about half of everything he’d brought. It looked like a lot but she probably could have eaten three times as much. This would work for now, though. Unable to wait, she was biting into a doughnut as she sat and patted the bed next to her for him to join in. “I’m sure they were very relieved,” she said around a mouth full of pastry. It was still hard for her to accept the idea that either of them might actually care about what happened to her.
---
“They were. Not as relieved as I was, of course, but very relieved.” He grabbed a doughnut himself and took a big bite of it. “Hopefully we can go home soon. I don’t like feeling like I’m in their way.”
He had a drink of juice, then looked over at her a bit more seriously.
“So are you staying with me now? Sort of permanently?”
***
“We can go whenever you want.” Hope was a little surprised that he felt that way, but he’d been staying here longer than she had, of course. And he was actually interacting with them. “It’s not like we have to stay here while this is happening.”
She stopped stuffing her face as the tone changed, lowering her hands to her lap. “... Would that be okay with you? I don’t want to be in your way, either.”
---
Feeling like he was in the way was something that Landon had always struggled with. He’d never felt particularly wanted in the foster homes he’d lived with and had usually tried to behave so that he wouldn’t make them want to get rid of him. Maybe that was why he felt the way he did. Maybe he just wanted some real alone time with Hope.
“It’s totally okay with me,” he said. “It’s actually what I want.”
***
In Hope’s mind, at least Damon and Elena’s place wasn’t the kids’ floor, but she had her own personal baggage with that from the time before Ric had arrived. But April and May were getting closer each day, and then who knew what their rooming situations would be.
“I want that, too. As long as you know you can change your mind whenever you want and I won’t be upset.”
---
“Of course I know,” he said. “But why wouldn’t I want you there? You’re not just my girlfriend, you’re my friend. And we get along. Right?” Sure, they argued sometimes, but they always made up. Sometimes the arguments even got sort of heated but at the end of the day he still loved her. A lot.
“And you can change your mind too. I won’t suddenly believe you don’t love me anymore.”
***
“Of course we’re friends, too. But you’re allowed private time if you want it. Usually, that would mean being alone in your room, but if your room is my room…” She’d never had a truly share-a-room roommate before but it stood to reason that some things like privacy would be harder. And maybe little things would start to get to them. Having the freedom to change their minds made it feel less permanent, which she hoped would make the little things not seem so annoying.
“It makes it a choice. We’re choosing each other every day.”
---
That brought a big smile to Landon’s face as he nodded at that.
“I like that. And I don’t think I ever won’t choose you.” He couldn’t imagine it. Hope had given him something he’d never had before - a place he belonged. He’d started to think he’d never find it, but maybe that had been because he’d been looking for a physical place instead of the home he felt as long as Hope was close.
“And you’re free to kick me if I do something that drives you nuts.”
***
There was no doubt in her mind that Landon was the epic love her mom had encouraged her to find. Without even realizing it, he’d flung open the doors inside of her that she’d kept locked for so many years. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said he was the only real reason she had friends in Goodland. He’d brought her back to the rest of the world. Some part of her would always love him for that, no matter what else happened.
“Be careful what you wish for,” she grinned, “I have a pretty good roundhouse.”
---
He laughed a little at that. “I know you do. I’ve seen it. And I’d rather never be on the receiving end of it. But...if you have to…” He shrugged his shoulders. “We can stay here another night if you’d rather. I mean, it’s nice of Damon and Elena to give us a place, and maybe until we’re sure it’s safe…”
He wanted to get back to their place, but he didn’t want to take chances, either.
***
Hope shook her head. “I don’t care where we go as long as it’s you and me. If you want to head back upstairs, let’s go upstairs. They’ll get it.” And maybe they would like having their place back to just the two of them despite what Damon had told her. “My killer roundhouse will keep us safe,” she added, teasing mostly. She really was in a much better mood after sleeping off the healing and intense magic usage. It felt like nearly dying had happened to someone else, or years ago (not that this had been the first time she nearly died…).
---
“Well, I kind of would like to go upstairs,” he said honestly. “I need to change clothes. And get into my stuff, you know? And it’ll just kind of make it feel more like it’s over.” When they were all back where they belonged, everything would be easier, wouldn’t it? Then they could go back to their lives.
“Let’s head back, then. We can always come back.”
***
“There is some appeal to being back in my own clothes,” she agreed. Most of her stuff was already at Landon’s anyway, so that would make this easier.
“It’s going to be okay. These things don’t usually come into the Villa itself, and I’m not going out to find them anymore. I’ll only fight if we’re actively threatened and there’s no other choice.” That was maybe going to be harder than she was anticipating, but she was willing to give it a try for him.
---
“Like I said, we can come back if things go bad. I mean, I doubt Elena and Damon will just kick us out because he left once?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Come on, then, let’s grab our stuff and head back.”
***
“No, you’re right. Damon said we could stay as long as we want, so I’m sure leaving doesn’t negate that.” Bending to pick up her ruined shirt, she balled it up along with the rest of her clothes. They were definitely too full of memories to try to salvage, but she’d take care of getting rid of them.
“...Thanks for helping me feel safe yesterday.”
---
“Yeah, well, it was something I could do, at least.” He felt a little bad that he couldn’t have contributed more, but knowing he’d made Hope feel safe made him feel a little better. Yeah, he’d never be the hero. But he’d get used to that. Probably.
He watched her face as she balled up her shirt.
“When this is all over, we can go shopping. Or...you can go shopping and I’ll carry your bags.”
***
Hope wasn’t entirely sure she agreed with him, and she wasn’t going to let him think that about himself, either. “Maybe in the larger scale it wasn’t that much. But to me? It wasn’t just something, it was everything.” If he hadn’t been there, she’d never have been able to get any rest. She would have just replayed the fight over and over in her mind until her body took over and she passed out.
His suggestion brought a smile back to her face. “I like that idea. Will you be sullen and flop around on the fitting room couches?”
---
“Um, I think that’s what I’m supposed to do?” He grinned. “But honestly, I like seeing you in anything, so I think it’ll be fun to see you pick out clothes. Of course, I doubt I’ll be much help in choosing since I’m going to think you look great in anything.”
He shrugged. “And since when am I a normal guy?”
***
“See, that just sounds like a challenge. ‘Find something Landon hates’.” Some of the stores in New York were weird enough that she thought it might not be too much of a challenge.
Adding her shoes to the pile in her hands (she didn’t mind walking upstairs in her socks since they’d be inside), Hope was ready to leave. Aside from having to see other people. “I think you have been normal for just about as long as I have.” See: never.
---
“Exactly,” he laughed. “Yet another reason we’re perfect for each other. We’re both all out weird.”
He gathered his things and held them in a bundle in his arms.
“You ready?”
***
“Of course,” she said brightly, like the liar she was. Giving the room one more glance to make sure they weren’t leaving anything behind, she screwed up her courage and stepped into the small hallway that led to the living space. She was doing this for Landon, because she loved him and because it couldn’t always be about her wants. She repeated that as a sort of mantra to herself a few times as they made their way back to their room.
“Home sweet home.”
---
Landon gave her a good long look as if he didn’t quite believe her smile, but he let it go and climbed the stairs with her. His room was just as he’d left it, which made him feel good - it meant that nobody had messed with it while he was gone.
“You okay?” He asked, sitting down on his bed. “I mean, it’s okay that we’re here?”
***
Immediately, Hope grabbed her backpack off of his floor and stuffed her clothes deep inside, everything except for the boots. “Me? I’m fine. Being here is like being there, but with all of our stuff, so of course that’s an improvement.” Setting the bag down, she looked at it for a moment before picking it up and zipping it securely shut. She’d deal with that later.
Planting one knee on the bed next to him, she moved to stand half between his legs so she could reach out and run her fingers through his curls. “Why? Regretting it already?”
---
“Nope.” He grinned up at her, liking the feeling of her fingers in his hair. “I just wanted to make sure that you weren’t.” He liked being back here, and he thought it was just as safe as Elena and Damon’s place. After all, anyone who got in to the building would have to get through them first, right?
“I love you, Hope. I really do. I mean, it’s weird to have a girlfriend, but I like it. I like it a lot. And I’m glad it’s you.”
***
She didn’t know how to describe to him what she was feeling, why it had been so hard. Not without it sounding like some kind of sob story or bizarre anxiety. So she settled for continuing to brush her fingers through his hair, a tender smile on her face.
“I really like it when you say that, you know.” Before he’d arrived here, they’d really just had that one moment before she’d gone and jumped into the pit. “Oh, and I love you, too,” her smile widened until her eyes scrunched nearly into nothing, her cheeks turning a soft pink. “And I’m glad it’s you.”
---
Landon had faith in Hope, too. He felt safe here partly because she was here, and he knew he’d rather have her protecting him than just about anyone else. She was strong and smart and had a ridiculous number of cool abilities. He’d do what he could, but what he could do was nothing compared to Hope’s abilities.
“Guess we belong together. Being weird and all.” He gazed at her, his eyes full of his feelings, not even trying to hide them. How could he?
***
When he looked at her like that, Hope couldn’t help but feel her insides melt into goo. Pulling her hands from his hair, she moved them to his face, holding him steady so she could lean down and kiss him soundly. Maybe she wasn’t the best are verbalizing the depth of her feelings for him, but she had other ways of showing him how much she cared.
---
Landon returned the kiss with all of his heart, wishing he could make her feel as safe as she made him. It was just a stupid guy thing and he knew he’d get over it eventually. After all, he wasn’t one of those jerks who thought that girls couldn’t be stronger than guys. He’d be an idiot if he was.
***