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The girl had just finished showering, and he immediately rushed over to mooch dinner.
Those who knew would say he was there for dinner, but those who didn't might think Kevin had ulterior motives.
However, on second thought, Annie wasn't living alone now; Kimiko was still staying at Annie's place, so even if Kevin really wanted to do something, he'd have to consider Kimiko's gaze.
Besides, Kevin was genuinely there to freeload a meal, not harboring any sordid thoughts, and Annie hadn't said anything either.
The more Kevin thought about it, the more at ease he felt, and then he walked into the room without any reservations.
As soon as he entered the room, Kevin heard Annie say to him:
"Because I didn't expect you to come, I didn't prepare much... What do you want for dinner tonight?"
"Anything, as long as there's food."
Kevin's purpose in coming was simply to obtain skill points from Kimiko; freeloading a meal was just a suitable excuse, so even if it meant ordering takeout, Kevin didn't mind.
"Hmm..."
Annie seemed not to have expected Kevin to say that. She hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Then I'll fry some chicken cutlets and make some salad?"
"Sure, you're the host, I'm the guest. I'll listen to you."
Kevin expressed his indifference.
With the dinner menu decided, Annie nodded slightly and turned to busy herself in the kitchen.
Annie's apartment in New York was similar to a normal home, with two bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen.
The kitchen was connected to the living room, with only a platform about a meter high in between, and no other barriers.
Kevin could see Annie busy in the kitchen from where he sat, and Annie could also see Kevin in the living room.
Just looking at Annie busy in the kitchen, Kevin, who had planned to chat with Kimiko, suddenly felt a pang of conscience, realizing his current behavior seemed a bit excessive.
Annie had just finished showering, and he was making her cook, which would get her covered in cooking fumes. That seemed a bit inconsiderate.
Kevin also felt that what he was doing might be too impolite.
So, after a moment of thought, Kevin went to the high counter by the kitchen and sat down, saying to Annie, who was busy inside:
"Uh, I just thought about it, why don't we just order some pizzas?"
"Why? You came all this way just to eat takeout pizza with us?"
Annie asked, amused, as she continued with her preparations.
Kevin looked at Annie, who had already put on an apron, and then at her hair, which was still wrapped in a towel, and said:
"Well, mainly because you just washed your hair..."
"It's fine, Kimiko and I are going to eat dinner anyway."
Annie didn't stop her movements, looking for a topic to ask:
"By the way, what did you do this afternoon?"
"You know, some work stuff. Ever since I saved that plane, I've been very busy every day."
Kevin didn't mention Shockwave to Annie because there was no need, and subconsciously, Kevin didn't want Annie to know about these 'bad' aspects.
"After all, you did save a lot of people, a great hero."
Annie didn't doubt him, nor did she ask further, teasing Kevin with a smile.
Kevin waved his hand helplessly:
"What great hero? I just... happened to stumble upon it."
In Reality, it was just for skill points.
But Kevin couldn't tell Annie about the skill points.
Kevin just wanted to express that he didn't want to be a true hero, but Annie seemed to have a different opinion.
She suddenly turned around and said very seriously to Kevin:
"Whether it was by chance or something else, the fact that you saved those people is undeniable. For that alone, you can be called a hero."
"Is that so?" But Kevin had a different thought: "So you think Homelander and A-Train are also heroes like that?"
"They're different!"
"How are they different? In front of the public, they also saved the plane, heroes. No matter what they've done in secret, at least on the surface, they've saved many people."
Kevin said in a low voice.
Annie's thoughts might be right; regardless of their private lives, the Superheroes who publicly saved everyone should all be considered heroes.
But what was the Reality?
"I don't think we can lump them all together."
Annie let out a long breath and looked at Kevin: "They are different from you, at least that's how I see it."
Kevin didn't know that his image in Annie's heart had always been perfect.
Although Kevin seemed a bit lazy in others' eyes, always slacking off at work, and always afraid of trouble and not wanting to get involved in troublesome matters.
But in Reality, when he truly encountered someone in difficulty, Kevin would choose to step forward and help.
It was like that with the human traffickers he encountered in the sea last time, and it was the same when Annie asked him to save Kimiko later.
And it was the same now.
He always said he wasn't the hero Annie imagined, perhaps having some flaws and minor issues in his personality, but in Annie's eyes, he was a hero.
Once a preconceived notion was formed, no matter what flaws Kevin had, as long as they weren't particularly excessive, Annie would consider them normal.
This was also the reason Annie had a good impression of him.
At a time when The Seven were almost universally bastards, Kevin's minor flaws seemed insignificant in Annie's eyes.
So Kevin was different from Homelander and A-Train, and different from those Superheroes whose divine halos had faded.
He was the only one in Annie's heart who could now be called a hero... a Superhero.
Kevin didn't know that Annie's inner thoughts were so complex. If Annie didn't say it, he wouldn't know.
Kevin just felt that continuing this topic would likely turn into a debate between opposing sides, so he quickly changed the subject:
"Uh, speaking of which, how are your preparations for Ezekiel's Faith Expo coming along?"
The topic shifted to business, Annie composed herself, turned back to continue with dinner, and answered casually:
"Still the same. I've only met Ezekiel a few times when I was little, and I'm not really that familiar with him, so besides work-related communication, we don't really interact much privately, and..."
When Annie got to this point, her expression suddenly became very strange:
"He seems to be deliberately keeping his distance from me, is it just my imagination?"
At work, Ezekiel would always maintain an appropriate distance from Annie. While Annie could understand this as Ezekiel's courtesy to maintain his demeanor.
But was he a bit too intimate with men?
Annie voiced her confusion, and Kevin found it a bit hard to hold back his laughter.
It was then that he remembered he had forgotten to tell Annie something that wasn't crucial but was very interesting.
"Pfft, I almost forgot to tell you, he's gay."
"Huh?"
Bang.
Annie's knife, which she was using to cut chicken cutlets, slipped and chopped down on the cutting board. Her expression was filled with shock and disbelief.
She stood there stunned for a long time, and after a while, she still asked in disbelief:
"He's... gay? Let me ask first, this 'gay' you're referring to, it shouldn't be..."
"Yes, you didn't misunderstand. It's exactly what I said; he's homosexual. I was fortunate enough to see him embracing two boys in a bar once."
Kevin was talking about the first time The Deep went to that Supe bar. At that time, The Deep had seen Ezekiel, but the two didn't interact much.
And The Deep didn't go there much after that.
But Ezekiel, with his rubber hands, wrapped around two handsome boys like ropes, stroking their key areas—this scene left a deep impression on The Deep.
It was the first time he realized that superpowers could be used in such a way.
"Ah... ha..."
Annie turned her head, dazed, and continued to prepare dinner.
It wasn't that she looked down on gay people; in this free country, she didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
But... Ezekiel was different.
On the surface, this guy was a staunch Christian believer, and a traditional one at that, strongly rejecting same-sex relationships and impure premarital love.
Outwardly, he strongly opposed it, but secretly, he was messing around.
Annie's faith in God and Jesus wavered once again at this moment. If the 'spokesperson' chosen by God was this kind of person, then God wouldn't be blind...
Realizing her somewhat irreverent thoughts, Annie quickly shook her head again.
Anyway, regardless of whether God was blind or not, she now understood the reason why Ezekiel was unwilling to have a good relationship with Annie.
Turns out he simply didn't like women.
"Wait."
After the matter of Ezekiel was discussed, Annie finally reacted:
"You said a bar? You've been to the bar Ezekiel frequently goes to?"
"Uh... I only went once occasionally, and after that, I stopped going. That bar is actually very boring, nothing interesting."
Kevin didn't know why, but as soon as he saw Annie's suspicious gaze, he immediately started explaining.
But Annie didn't misunderstand what he thought. She just said very strangely:
"I didn't accuse you of anything. I just wanted to say, since you have a more convenient way to contact him, why didn't you say so earlier? You wasted half a month for nothing..."
"..."
Annie's words weren't sharp; she was just questioning from her own perspective.
But Kevin instantly fell silent.
He remained silent for a long time without speaking.
Yes, he knew the bar Ezekiel frequented, and he knew when Ezekiel would go there, so why didn't he tell Annie about this earlier...?
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