In Which Ice Storm Out-Whores Hoarfrost

Ali leaned against the couch, rolling his eyes.

"Why do you care if I have a girl over?" He asked. He ran a hand through his red, perfectly slicked-back hair. " I'm an adult now, you know--you can't stop me from dating. Besides, you sleep around constantly."

He nonchalantly sipped his virgin Martini, trying not to show how much Azlan's disapproval bugged him. All he had wanted for years now was to be just like him.

"You're not an adult, you're barely eighteen," Azlan scoffed, lounging in a chaise longue. He was braiding his hair in a new way he'd found in the magazine on his lap. "Do you even know how to put on a condom?"

As far as Azlan knew, they didn't even teach that in school. At least, the sex-ed he'd gotten had been horrible. He'd already been sleeping around at that point, so it didn't really influence much. Suddenly reminded of this, he frowned and stopped mid-braid.

"You haven't started sleeping around yet, have you?" he asked, pointedly looking at Ali.

His cheeks reddened noticeably, though his expression remained cool.

"What difference does it make? If I tell you it's my first time, why is it suddenly more or less okay with you?" He drained his martini with a grimace. "At the end of the day, I'm still an adult and you can't stop me. Hell, I could move out and spend all my time at brothels, if I wanted.

"And for your information, of course I know how to use a condom."

Azlan clenched his teeth angrily.

"If you're such an adult, then obviously, you don't need your old hero, anymore," he replied, sighing and relaxing back into the chair. He smiled, returning back to his normal demeanor. "Next time there's an emergency, I'll let you handle it without me."

His heart sunk into his stomach, and his grip on his glass tightened.

"...Fine. I don't see what it has to do with my interest in sexual activity, but if you want me to handle more things by myself, I'll obey.

"But since I'm capable of handling criminals on my own, I'm definitely sleeping with that girl."

"If," Azlan replied, punctuating the word ominously, "you can handle the next emergency we'd normally handle together all by yourself...then I won't get mad at you for sleeping around."

Azlan knew that this would possibly be one of the hardest promises he'd ever keep. Luckily, he was almost certain that Ali couldn't handle it. Even if Ali was becoming surprisingly strong, Azlan was still the muscle of their team. He hoped.

"Cool, she says she'll be over at nine, so give us some space, if you would," he replied, smiling insincerely. He wanted to strangle Azlan. He loved him so much. He knew he'd never be as much of a man as Azlan was, but every time he tried, he got angry with him. It made their lack of blood relation seem painfully apparent.

He laughed, waving his hand. "We both know that if you're date saw me, she'd want nothing to do with you, kid."

He sighed, shrugging. "Fine," he replied dismissively. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

He stood up and ruffled Ali's hair, looking him in he eyes for perhaps to long.

Ali moved his head away, scowling slightly.

"So, is that what this is? You just think I'm not as good as you are?"

"Wait...what?" Azlan asked, completely taking off guard by the entire encounter. "I was just teasing you, kiddo."

It was times like these Azlan really wondered if everything was his fault. He was not an ideal parent for the kid. Somewhere along the way, he was sure he'd done something catastrophically wrong. Something big. Something that caused these fights, something he didn't understand.

"Oh, yeah? Well, are you gonna stop teasing me long enough to tell me why you have a problem with me dating? Because i don't see it."

"Dating is different than sleeping around," he insisted. "Besides, I just don't see why you need to date. We're too busy for your problems to interfere with the team."

Yes, that was a good lie, wasn't it?

"Then why do you get to bang any woman you see and like, even a little? Aren't people more likely to go after the hero, anyway?" He clenched his fists.

"Do you have any good reason why I can't be like you, or only excuses?"

Suddenly, it dawned on him. And it horrified him to think about.

"That's not what this is about, is it?" he asked suddenly, grabbing Ali by the arm. "You're kidding, right?"

"What, you not treating me like an adult?" He spat, not meeting his eyes. "Of course it is! Anything you can do, I should be ale to do, too--we're equals now, aren't we?" Ali had never felt equal to Azlan in his life, but it was easier to say than his true feelings.

"No," he replied quickly. "Of course not, I mean..."

He frowned deeply, trying to find an answer hidden in Ali's face. "You don't really want to...be like me, right?"

"I canbe anything I want, bcwuse ai'm an adult," he retorted, "and if I wanna sleep around, who are you to stop me? You're just--you're nothing but a hypocrite!"

"Fine!" he shouted, turning his back on Ali. "Then get out of my house, if you're such an adult then handle it on your own, right?"

Azlan wasn't sure who was being more childish at this point.

His heart sank.

"...If that's really what you want, fine. It's not like I'm going to lose my virginity here anyway, right?!"

He furrowed his eyebrows, running a hand through his long hair and sighing deeply.

"...if you're going to have sex, don't do it here and you can still live here."

"Fine, then can you stop having sex here, too? It's just annoying." To be fair, Ali had never really minded until now;sleeping around was just something Azlan did. It was only now that it gave him the sinking feeling in his stomach, a reminder that he wasn't Azlan's son and couldn't pretend to be.

Azlan smiled all too suddenly. Yes, perfect.

"Fine," he replied looking smug. "If I don't sleep around anymore, then you can't have sex either."

"...Fine," he said, surprised. "If you want me to stay a virgin that badly, why not?"

"Good," he replied brightly. "Well, I'm gonna go shower, I'll talk to you later."

"Wait," he said, "before you go--so if you break your promise, i can have all the sex I want, right?"