Under the shade of a big tree in Flushing Meadows Park, Val and Storm were unpacking the different varieties of dishes that they brought with them to their date.

Gazing upon the dishes laid out in front of them, Storm quietly whispered to herself, "Shit! I brought so many dishes."

Val glanced at her face and could easily guess what she was concerned about.

He smiled and said, "Ororo, there's nothing to be afraid of. I will eat everything you made even if they taste bland or bad. I don't care."

"Wha-?", Ororo was surprised and thought, 'OMG! That's literally what I was thinking. How did he know? Does he have a mind-reading power or something?'

"How did you know that?" Ororo asked him, a little bit skeptical because of the thought that he possessed a mind-reading power. Because if it did, it would be a game over for her. It hurt her to think like that but she wasn't going to date someone who could read her mind 24/7.

She would never be able to fully trust that person because she would never know his real thoughts. Most of the time, she would be overthinking that he is saying what he's saying just because he wants her. She would think that she's being fooled.

Sometimes, being too perfect isn't attractive.

Anyway, while Ororo waited for Val to reply, she crossed her fingers and mentally repeated, 'Please say that you aren't a mind-reader! Please say that you aren't a mind-reader! Please say that you aren't a mind-reader!'

"Well..", Val replied as he set the plates and glasses, "You are a lot more expressive than you think you are."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I could easily make out that you were concerned about the huge amount of dishes that you prepared. You have been hesitant while taking out the dishes. You were constantly looking at me as if I was going to judge you when I came across a dish. And then, when I spoke, all of the confirmation needed for me to know what you are thinking was present on your face."

'What?' Ororo thought, 'I thought he has a mind-reading power but he just paying attention to me. I'm such a fool for doubting him.'

"Do not think for a moment, Ororo," Val said with a smile on his face and took her hand, "That you can't let your guard down with me."

A huge sigh came from Ororo's heart as Val squeezed her hands affectionately.

"I like you and that's not going to change.", Val said with sincerity reflected on his face, "Even if you think something that contradicts your words or your expressions. Just be honest with me and I would be the same."

Ororo nodded and murmured, "T-Thank you."

"What?", Val smiled as he looked at her embarrassed face and teased, "What did you say? Say it louder!"

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Ororo bit her lip and said with a reddened face, "T-Thank you! I-I am sorry for doubting you."

"Hehe!", Val grinned as he gazed at her blushing face and thought, 'Her cuteness makes me feel butterflies in my heart.'

"No problem, Ororo.", Val said as he bent forward, tucked a strand of Ororo's white hair behind her ear, his face getting dangerously close to hers, and said, "And there's no need to thank me. Just be happy with me."

Ororo gulped, her face getting redder by the second. She couldn't respond as she focused on his face and lips and thought, 'So fucking handsome. Oh my God, his face is so... so beautiful yet so sharp. Ahh! He smells good. Really good. And those lips... What would happen if I just...'

She was going mad, fantasizing about Val when she paused and thought, 'What the heck is wrong with me? I am a grown-ass woman who's not in her puberty anymore. I should know better.'

Val couldn't stop smiling at the way she stared at him and licked her lip subconsciously. So, he thought, 'Let's give her a reward!'

He turned his head to the side and pecked her on the cheek.

When he did, he knew what Ororo was thinking without even needing to be a mind-reader.

'FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. ... his fucking lips just brushed on mine a little. I swear, my nipples just got hard when he pecked me. If his lips just met mine for the slightest of seconds, I swear I would start groping him all over, strip him right here and... and...'

"What's wrong?", Val asked her with an innocent expression when he pulled his face back to gaze into her eyes. As she came to her senses, she looked into his eyes and quickly looked away.

'The fuck is wrong with me?,' Ororo looked at the dishes and thought in embarrassment, 'This isn't like me. I am a no-bullshit, black, sassy woman who doesn't get fucked up. Not a damsel in distress or some sappy character you will find in movies and stories. Well, not to that extent.'

Val clapped, snapping Ororo out of her thoughts, and said as he gestured toward the dishes, "Let's not delay the start of our romantic picnic any longer."

Ororo chuckled and nodded, saying, "Yes."

Val took out a portion of one dish and gave it to Ororo, saying, "So... how was your day today?"

Ororo thanked him as she took the plate and replied, "It was just like normal days except that there was a fire I had to put out."

"Oh?", Val asked while eating, "What kind of fire?"

Ororo gulped down the food and replied, "It was this..."

-----

In a remote, underground laboratory in Canada,

A man was making calculations on a desk. He was surrounded by many papers and documents and was writing something down as he muttered to himself, "Looks like this conundrum will be hard to solve."

Then suddenly, he paused and muttered in annoyance, ""Yes... the calculations are correct this time. However, if one looks at the flux and the magnetic output, the numbers are highly unusual. Maybe, we can introduce a-"

The scientist stopped and raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Anomalous magnetic input? I see. Maybe that will work. And the flux is at a balanced state. Let's take a look."

"The conundrums appears...", As the man solved the calculations, he couldn't help but exclaim in joy, "To have been solved! Now, we move onto the experiment! This has never been done successfully before!"

He hastily stood up from his desk and ran into another room that had various research equipment all around it.

He pulled out a flask from the deep-freezer and murmured while staring at the liquid inside it, "The vials will dissolve but, now, hopefully, with this anomalous magnetic flux... Maybe... We can finally do it."

Trying his best to stay calm, he quickly dropped the liquid into an empty flask and entered the data into the console beside it.

"Input 1... Complete!", The computer beeped and a big START BUTTON appeared on it.

Smiling at his success, he punched the button on the console. The automated machinery which would mix the contents started moving and within ten seconds, his eyes brightened as he gazed upon the machinery and said, "What would be the effects of the Super-Soldier Serum magnified over a thousand times over? Hehehe! I am excited! Nothing like the feeling of a world-class discovery, indeed."