"He is a delight," Jane Pearson said. She sighed blissfully. "Absolute perfection."

Her friend, Amy Wei, snorted. "Oh? You got yourself a crush now?"

"I mean... look at him." She insisted, gesturing at the crowd in front of them.

And here lied the problem. Comic-cons all around the world welcomed thousands of guests each year and Big Apple Comic Con was no exception. They had a hard enough time hearing each other with all the background noise. Trying to point something out to the other? Nearly as impossible as finding a needle in a haystack. Amy squinted at the people gathered in a circle in front of them and tried to guess which of them had captured Jane's attention.

It didn't take her too long though.

At its center stood a man wearing a dark blue suit with stripes of red and white around his middle. He'd covered his face with a mask and people took selfies with him as he posed, his shield raised high and glinting in the neon ceiling lights.

"This guy? Captain America?" Amy asked.

"Obviously," Jane confirmed, rolling her eyes. "You see anyone else with a shield that looks that authentic and a suit that looks as if it belongs to the original movie set?"

Amy sighed, turning her attention back to her cell. "So not a crush then."

"Didn't say it was."

Amy shook her head, a smile on her lips. "Should've known. Anyway, I thought you weren't into comics and superheroes."

"I wasn't..." She crossed her arms, hesitating a little before adding, "Until Phoenix."

"Phoenix?"

"That's his stage name. I've seen all his DIY videos."

"Oh my god, maybe it is a crush after all," Amy said, struggling to hold in her laughter. "Mind telling me how an anime cosplayer such as yourself just happened to stumble onto this Phoenix dude?"

"Well, it never hurts to study your competitors' styles," she argued, even though it sounded feeble to her own ears. "And there's nothing wrong with wanting to better my craft."

"Sure. I bet that nice bod of his wasn't taken into account then."

"Who do you take me for, huh?" Jane asked, nudging her friend playfully. "His looks have nothing to do with his skill. And besides," she said, glancing back at Phoenix who posed for yet another photo, "he always hides his face. There's no way to tell if he would be my type or not." She shrugged.

"So, are you gonna talk to him or are you gonna stay here and gawk at him while others have all the fun?"

Jane stared at her friend, horrified. "Are you crazy? No way!"

Amy's brows lifted in confusion at Jane's exaggerated reaction. "Why the hell not?"

"What do you want me to tell him exactly?"

"That you've seen all his DIY videos?" Amy suggested with a shit-eating grin Jane wanted to wipe off her smug face.

"And sound like a stalker? Yeah, right, good idea."

"Fine, just tell him he's perfection like you told me, like, two minutes ago."

"That suspiciously sounds like flirting, Ames," Jane told her, one eyebrow raised in mock wariness.

"So definitely not a crush?" Amy asked again.

"Not even close." Jane sighed. "He's just a guy I've been admiring from afar on the web, nothing more."

"All right, then it should be no big deal for you to go to him and say hi or something along those lines?" Amy said. Her fingers glided across the screen of her cell, swift as she played one of the numerous mobile games she loved so much.

"You think I should?" Jane asked, playing with the tips of her long-haired wig. "I don't want to bother him, y'know?"

"Pfft, does he look bothered to you?" Amy said. "Look how he's soaking all that love and attention. He's gonna welcome you with open arms."

Jane heaved a sigh, feeling she had run out of excuses. Arguing with Amy always felt like running in circles. "Fine. I'll go. Happy now?"

"Delighted. Give me a good show, would you?" Amy said, a huge grin on her face as she slipped her cell phone in her jeans pocket.

"I ask for nothing less than to entertain Her Majesty," Jane retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Go then, my trusty jester, and do not disappoint me," she replied before laughing at her.

"I'll make sure not to, Your Highness," Jane said with a flip of her wig and a flap of her flowing skirt.

Still a tad tricky, Jane thought as she took in the people clustered around Phoenix. Approaching him would be no easy task.

That didn't stop her from gazing at him from afar, something she felt no shame in doing. After all, she'd told Amy the truth. She couldn't help but note the care with which he'd created that suit, how he'd thought of every single detail to make it as realistic as possible. His shield shined bright and looked solid, just as ready for a bloody battle as the superhero it belonged to.

Amy hadn't lied about Jane's lack of interest in comics. She liked them fine, but her passion resided in anime and manga ever since a childhood friend had introduced her to them. It went without saying that while cosplaying, she'd pay tribute to the characters she loved the most.

When the crowd thinned at last, Jane took a chance. As Amy had said, it wouldn't hurt to say a quick hello and call it a day.

That's what she'd meant to do anyway. Except the moment he'd turned that gaze of his on Jane, her brain had decided to take a vacation and leave her to fend for herself.

Oh God, say something, you dumb-dumb.

She waved awkwardly and said, "Hi."

Wow, points for originality. Your wit is off the charts today.

"Hey," he said, a warm smile greeting her. More than that, Jane forgot to speak for a moment, because she'd never seen eyes with that particular shade. It reminded her of a flame when it turned blue and it fascinated her.

"You're not wearing contacts today," she blurted and refrained herself from slapping her hand over her stupid mouth. If she wanted to sound like some kind of stalker, she was on the right track.

He rubbed at his eyes and she wondered if she'd made him feel self-conscious.

"Nah, not today. Didn't see the point. Not with this costume."

"It suits you. You look great." Phoenix stared at her, his face unreadable, and she felt heat creep up her neck at what she'd just said. She started to ramble. "You look great as Captain America! His spitting image! Amazing!"

He chuckled. "Thanks, glad to hear you appreciate it. You a fan of comics?"

"No, not exactly, but uh..." She hesitated. "I do like your cosplay a lot. You're damn good."

"You're not so bad yourself," he said with a wink. "What's yours? I'm guessing anime, but my knowledge is pretty lacking on that count."

"Asuna," she replied automatically, because he just had to be so charming and her brain did not compute. "From Sword Art Online."

"I don't know about it, but you sure look good," he said and now, it was his turn to avert his eyes. He hid his mouth with his hand as if afraid of what might come out of it. "I might not be a fan of anime, but I do know about you. I saw your last cosplay on Instagram and it was just as impressive." Then, he looked away, muttering something that suspiciously sounded like please, someone make me shut up.

That confession stunned Jane. Phoenix? A popular cosplayer like him following her Instagram? No way.

"Really? I've never seen your name pop up in my notifs."

"You think I go around calling myself Phoenix out of cosplay?" he asked, his lips quirking up as if trying his best to hold in his mirth.

She laughed. "Yeah, I get that. You won't see me going by Alix out there either."

He opened his mouth, about to reply, but his gaze was drawn to Amy, who hadn't budged from her spot by one of the stands. Once she had Jane's attention, she waggled her eyebrows and mimicked eating popcorn. Jane glared in her direction and motioned for her to go away. This only made her friend laugh.

"I think we have a spectator," Phoenix said, amused.

"She wasn't invited," Jane retorted. Her cell vibrated and she reached into her bag to check her messages.

Dude, the tournament is in like two mins, stop ogling each other and come on already!

Her reply came quick, fueled by annoyance.

You were the one insisting that I go talk to him!

Well, now you did, so get your ass over here!

She slid her cell back in her bag with a put-upon sigh.

Phoenix crossed his arms and chuckled. "Problem?"

"My friend, the dumbass who thinks it's fun to spy on other people, is going to compete in the Smash Bros tournament. I promised I'd go and cheer on her."

He put up his hands. "Far be it from me to stop you. I'll get out of your hair then."

She waved off his words. "No, no, don't worry about it. I'm glad I finally got a chance to talk to you. Maybe we'll cross paths again soon?"

"I definitely hope so," Phoenix assured her, a warm glint in his eyes that made her insides feel all tingly.

Body, no tingles, ok? This guy is too good to be true so no tingly feelings! It's not worth it!

With this in mind, she quickly made her way to Amy who gestured to Jane to hurry the hell up.

                                           ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

First chapter done! Whoo-hoo! If you've enjoyed this chapter, please like and/or leave a comment, it would mean the world to me!

I can't wait to get to the part where those two finally meet out of costume, sparks will fly for sure! 🤩