Honestly, it was rare for anyone to actually like Tommy. The Young Avengers liked him now, but that had been largely touch and go in the beginning, had seen them going from an intense distrust of him to something more like friendship in a slow process. Often times, he wondered if they would have continued with their plan to break him out of prison at all after meeting him had it not been for Billy and the clear physical similarities between the two. With Felicia, it wasnât like that. He wasnât entirely sure if the two of them were friends or simply two people who annoyed one another and had really good sex, but he knew she didnât keep him around out of obligation to Billy or because sheâd simply grown accustomed to him. That was far more than could be said for most of the people in his life, and he found he enjoyed it. âPatriot might get jealous. Iâve already got, like, way more fans than he does.â It wasnât entirely true; the Young Avengers didnât exactly have a plethora of fans screaming their names in any situation, and most of Tommyâs fans were people who mistook him for Quicksilver or one of the Flashes. âIâd rather spend time taking off our clothes than designing new ones.â
She was easy to be around in any case. Tommy didnât feel like he had to censor himself, didnât feel like he needed to be careful about what he said or what he did. Felicia didnât seem to mind that he was more villain than hero some days, and considering her habit of stealing, she didnât seem turned off by his own penchant for taking what wasnât his. Whatever they had, it worked. âIâm always right,â he replied with a wink. âI hope my opinionâs relevant, âcause I definitely have one.â Her confidence only added to how attractive she was as far as he was concerned. Tommy had never been much of a fan of modesty. He laughed as she spoke again, nodding in agreement. âYouâre right about that. Religious people are always a little fucked.â One of the juvies heâd been at once had been religious. It was Catholic or something, he couldnât remember now. The guards had been especially cruel, the headmaster particularly vindictive. Religion seemed to bring out the absolute worst in some people, gave them an excuse to be awful.
The story of what had happened to him wasnât one heâd ever actually recounted before. The only real friends heâd had were the Young Avengers, and theyâd all known what happened to him, been aware with it without him having to say it aloud. Putting it into words felt weirdly intimate, even if he had largely detached himself from it. He wasnât sure what he was expecting to hear from her, but it wasnât what he got. He turned to look at her, expression softening a little. There was a brief flash of gratefulness across his face but it disappeared quickly, replaced by a neutral mask. âSure,â he agreed. âIâm also a pretty decent lay. Like a weapon with a vibrator setting! Youâre welcome.â It was a lot easier to joke about it than to admit that, some days, he wasnât sure if he was more than a weapon. He had friends, a family of sorts, but he was still destructive. He didnât know how not to be. He was a little surprised when Felicia went into her own story. Heâd been expecting her to laugh it off, to pretend he hadnât asked or request the subject be dropped. She wasnât exactly open about her life, and Tommy had never had a problem with that. That didnât mean he didnât appreciate hearing what she had to say. It was unexpected, the story of what made her who she was. It was terrible and tragic the same way those stories always were, and he guessed it made sense. âFor what itâs worth,â he said, âyouâre pretty much the best thief Iâve ever met. And Iâve met a lot.âÂ
Tommy wasnât someone that Felicia entirely understood her feelings for. They certainly werenât romantic, she doubted she would ever feel that strongly about anyone â sure, it happened in the past, but Felicia had grown since then and the idea of someone truly knowing her was terrifying â but frankly, she wasnât sure if she genuinely liked Tommy. He was entertaining, always provided a good time, but Tommy Shepherd was also irritating. At the end of the day, Felicia wasnât sure it mattered. Neither of them seemed concerned about where they stood on the either, and neither were remotely interested in anything more serious, whether that was a deep friendship or dating. It was a relief. âI donât imagine thatâs hard,â Felicia replied, shrugging a shoulder. Honestly, she had no idea who Patriot was, but Tommy seemed to want to discuss him. In theory, she could ask, but she assumed it was one of his fellow Young Avengers. For now, that was enough information. âYou are at your best when youâre naked,â she replied with a laugh. That was another thing Felicia liked about Tommy: he was honest, there was no grey area. She had to deal with that enough with contacts, mobsters, black market reps and all the rest.
At the end of the day, Felicia was positive that if she came to the revelation that she liked Tommy Shepherd as a person, for more than the fun they had in and out of the bedroom, she would be concerned. For years, Felicia had avoided anything serious in fear that it could get in the way of her operation. Additionally, her trust issues were deep seeded; she understood how easy it was for people to lie and betray one another. Tommy was honest now, but that did not necessarily mean he would stay way, and Speed was one of few that knew Felicia's dual identity. Spending time with Tommy was a risk, but the more Felicia analyzed how dangerous it was, the more she would overthink the million things that could go wrong between them. She had never been a paranoid woman, she was intelligent, and she had no desire to step over the figurative line into mania. âI think I already know your opinion on the subject,â she replied with a snicker. âBut you can tell me anyway,â Felicia added. Tommy had never seemed to mind her confidence, like she never minded his. Insecurity was a complete turnoff, she liked the fact it was never something she had to worry about. âI think you have to be delusional to believe in something all-powerful without proof,â she pointed out, shrugging a shoulder. Church had never been of interest to Felicia and while her mother was religious, her father had definitely not been.
Felicia recognized the genuine expression on Tommyâs face, though she couldnât place it specifically. Whether it was relief, gratitude or something else entirely didnât matter in the long run. What counted was the fact that he had trusted her enough to tell her, and if that wasnât making their relationship slightly more serious, Felicia wasnât sure what would. Honestly, she wasnât sure how she felt about it, but she highly doubted sheâd come up with an answer in a short period of time. âItâs the best of both worlds,â she replied with a smile. It was obvious that the moment had quickly passed between them and as a result, Felicia felt herself relax. The danger, figuratively speaking, was averted. Tommy seemed surprised when she shared her own abridged version of events, all available online due to the fact that Tommy knew Black Cat was Felicia Hardy. It was doubtful that he knew that, however, and if he did, Tommy seemed smart enough to realize her admitting it was different. It wasnât exciting, wasnât a moving moment, but it was some proof of trust between them, she supposed. âI better be,â she replied with a smirk. âIf you said otherwise, youâd never see me again and Iâm sure that would break your heart. I am irreplaceable, Tommy.â