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Heart Murmurs

More flash fiction. This time I was going for more of a romantic scene which is not my usual line. It is a romance with superheroes. I am still a nerd.

Heart Murmurs by Jeremiah McCoy

“Do you know what my superpower is?”  Ian asked as he stepped closer to Jaran, and he tried not to think about how close. Their perch on the skyscraper’s edge gave a view of the city. It was Ian in Jaran’s head, not Waveform.

“Something to do with sounds. You absorb sound, redirect it, right?” Jaran said uncertainly.  He tried to play the role of Knight Luminous and was paying attention to the city. He tried to be cool.

Ian sat down on the rooftop ledge at Jaran’s feet, eyes looking out.  “My powers were also sort of why I asked to go on patrol with you?”

“How so?” Jaran felt warm. Was it warm up here?

“I can absorb sounds, sure, but I can also perceive any sounds I absorb. Don’t ask me how it works.” Ian’s voice was as clear as if he were whispering Jaran’s ear.  Distracting was too small a word, in his opinion.

“Yeah.” Everything had gone quiet and he couldn’t tell if that was Ian’s powers or his own nerves.

“Yeah. That means I hear things other folks miss. The odd sound of joints bending, wind, people eating.  It is pretty distracting, but I can weed it out most of the time.”

“That must be hard,” Jaran said finally daring to look down at Ian. The standard superhero jumpsuit never fit too well on his skinny frame, but he was still beautiful. Ian looked almost as tense as Jaran. 

“Yeah, but it also lets me key into things. People stuff. I am not great at reading social situations. I am just not good at understanding, but if I let myself listen, I can tell things about the person. I can tell if they are tense. I can tell if have a headache or if they are lying by listening to their body for tells.”

 “Pretty useful,” Jaran said, thinking about some past interrogations.

“So, one time at a party. We were talking. I didn’t mean to, but I was nervous. I could hear you.” Ian said the last part with meaning. “I could hear you,”

“I don’t under..Oh..” Jaran flashed hot and felt a sinking feeling. Was this like having his mind read? Ian stood up quickly looking concerned. Could he hear Jaran’s dying of embarrassment? Was he saying knew how Jaran felt?

“I am sorry.” He began “I didn’t mean to.”

“What? What didn’t you mean to?” Jaran said as he started hearing his own heartbeat again, rapid and loud as he flushed red. A bunch of emotions warred inside him.

Ian looked just as embarrassed.  “Jaran, I…”

“What?” Jaran said with a little fear and anger mixed in his voice.

“Jaran, that’s not your heartbeat you’re hearing,” Ian said trying to look Jaran in the eyes, trying to will him to understand.

“Oh…” Jaran said as he listened to the beat rapid like his own, and he began to understand. He didn’t need Ian’s powers to understand.

“Oh.” He repeated once more and the two of them sat down on the edge. The patrol could wait.

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