Later, I sat on my bed with Lexa, sketchbook and laptop open before us while we brainstormed.

"Okay, this is kind of exciting, I have to admit," Lexa beamed. "This is the first time I've ever working on something like this. Let's do wish list first. Give me a few parameters."

I thought for a moment. "Can we make it purple? Kind of lavender, like my hair? Also, first and foremost it must be practical. I need to be able to move properly but without it getting in my way. And, I do want to look good, I mean I'm only human, mostly."

"Goes without saying," Lexa scribbled notes.

"And no cape. Liability."

"Obviously," she agreed without looking up.

"I've been thinking about a name," I started shyly.

That got her full attention. "Lay it on me."

"I was thinking maybe Tempest. Because I can move things around like a stormy wind, and also, because I have a less than placid disposition."

We both burst out laughing.

"I like it," Lexa wiped a tear from her eye. "Sounds like a winner."

A knock on the door interrupted, and a moment later Seb appeared.

"Hey guys, did you forget that tonight we all made plans to see that new fantasy movie for opening night? We bought tickets ages ago and Grant just reminded me. If you're still coming, we're going to meet at the Hamiltons' beforehand."

On the one hand, we were just getting started on some ambitious costume plans, but on the other, we'd all been looking forward to this movie night for several months and we'd already bought all the tickets, so it'd be a bit of a shame to miss out now.

After exchanging a meaningful glance, I spoke for the both of us. "Alright, we'll get ready super quick and then we can head out."

A little while later, the three of us were being ushered into the apartment shared by the Hamilton twins.

"Hey guys, Ewan's just on his way back from the gym so he shouldn't be too long," Grant explained.

We stood around chatting excitedly about the upcoming movie until I started feeling a bit thirsty.

"Grant, I'm gonna grab a glass of water," I called over my shoulder as I headed towards the separate kitchen.

"Oh, we just had a new filter thing put on the tap, and it's kind of weird so I'll come show you how it works." He followed close on my heels.

While he explained the tap, he went into a little more detail than I'd been anticipating, and I let my eye rove around the room for a moment. When it landed on one of my books tucked on a shelf, I chuckled and teased him, as usual. "Grant, have you been secretly reading my books? I wouldn't have thought it possible!"

"Oh no, that's Ewan's. He's got a few of them. Have you never talked about it? You know what I'm like with reading." He answered dismissively, handing me a glass of water.

I took it from him wordlessly, feeling like I'd just been hit with a freight train hauling stark awareness. I must have murmured something appropriate, because we walked back out of the kitchen together like nothing had really happened, but my world had just been rocked, hard.

When we reentered the living room we found Ewan there, having apparently just gotten home with a gym bag slung over his shoulder.

I stared at him like someone who'd just spotted an oasis in a desert, my mind still reeling.

He saw me and his face broke into a friendly smile. "Hey, Kens. You ready for movie night?"

I wondered if anyone else could feel how much everything had changed, but realised, dimly, that it was a stupid thought. Of course they didn't. Maybe he didn't either.

"Hi Ewan," I managed somehow, almost suffocatingly aware of how obvious it now was that those beautiful eyes watching me curiously were the real eyes of my masked stranger.

It's not your fault, Kens.

It made perfect sense that Ewan Hamilton was Enigma. How had I missed it?

I must have continued to stare dumbly off into space, lost in my jumbled inner world, because a push on my shoulder brought me back to reality.

"You okay, Kenna?" Lexa asked quietly. "You look at bit dazed."

"Oh, uh, yeah," I said, probably unconvincingly. "I'm fine. I was just thinking about my book, actually." Chancing a look up, I saw Ewan disappearing off in the direction of his room, so I didn't know whether he heard that or not.

"Alright," Lexa said slowly.

The rest of the night was a foggy memory for me, as I struggled to focus on the movie without being too painfully conscious of Ewan near me. I couldn't stop myself from stealing glances at him now and then under the cover of the dark theatre.

Nobody could ever deny that Ewan was exceedingly easy on the eyes. But how did I feel about the likelihood that my longtime friend was the Super I'd quickly begun falling for? It certainly explained why I'd always felt so comfortable around him, and why he seemed to understand me so well.

Maybe I'd felt it deep down for a long time without ever being able to put a finger on it. How would this affect the relationship we already had? Could we reconcile the two very different halves of knowing each other?

But I was getting ahead of myself, letting my brain spiral down deeper and deeper into a rabbithole.

Though I was almost completely convinced that I'd figured out the truth, I didn't know for sure. I'd have to figure out how to ask Enigma if I was right. What if I wasn't? Things could get awkward, fast. Tempting as it also was to just leap into Ewan's arms and see how he reacted, the potential embarrassment was too great.

As we were all saying our goodnights outside the theatre I decided on a baby step compromise. I wrapped my arms around Ewan and settled my head against his hard chest in a hug, and tried to decide if I was imagining his heart beating a little faster. As I pulled back I noticed the piece of hair had fallen back over his forehead to the top of his glasses. This time I gave in to the impulse to push it away and swore I saw something I'd never noticed before stirring in his eyes. Of course, I could simply have been deluded, as that little voice reminded me.

"Night, Hammy 1," I forced myself to say lightly.

"Night, Kenna," he said, a little smile playing across his lips, which I noticed for the first time tilted upwards at their corners, and I felt a little flutter in my stomach.

How could it be anyone else?

That question would haunt me for the rest of the night and beyond.

***

When I woke the next morning, the mists had cleared a little from my head, and I realised that I was annoyed. This surprised me but I gave some time to considering it. I learned that I was annoyed with myself for never noticing that it might be Ewan, but also with Ewan himself. If he really was Enigma, why hadn't he told me sooner? It's not like he had the excuse of not knowing who I was.

Well, it's not like I didn't have quite a lot of things to say to him already. What's one more to throw on the pile?

If I'd thought I was going to have a normal day after crawling out of bed, I was sadly mistaken. This noisy crowd in my head wasn't going anywhere until it got the answers it demanded. I wandered from room to room, made my tea, ate my breakfast, stared at the blank page on my laptop screen, all while Ewan's face, sometimes blending into Enigma's, taunted me from within.

I saw his crooked grin, heard his rumbly laughter, watched his sea hazel eyes sparkle with delight as he discussed his museum work and wondered what the hell was wrong with me in every possible way; for not recognising my soul's dance partner earlier in the greater part of a decade, and also for moping around my house in a sad-sack funk that was most decidedly not my usual M-O.

In an absurdist conversation, my mind asked itself if this was what they called 'lovesickness,' and then almost vomited at the utter sappiness of such an idea. Then it smugly accused itself of having built a high wall around my cold little heart, and suggested that perhaps I was a twice-burned type of helpless cynic.

In a moment of panic, I wondered what I was going to do if Enigma wasn't Ewan, since it'd become obvious to me that I harboured more than friendly feelings for my old friend.

I needed to get a grip.

Thinking that maybe I should read since I wasn't going to get any writing done, I pulled one of my comfortable old favourites off of the shelf and settled down snugly upon the couch. After about a half hour of leafing through the pages, I realised that a romance was probably not the most useful thing to distract myself with, and I pulled my phone out in defeat.

Hey, you around? Can you come over? I texted Enigma.

Nothing.

This radio silence stretched into the afternoon, gnawing on my insides. Seb, who had clearly noticed that something was going on with me but tactfully left it alone, eventually padded into the living room where I was aimlessly watching a rerun of my favourite tv show.

"I'm off to practice now. I'll be back in time for a later dinner, if you want to hold off until then but you definitely don't have to. Take care of yourself, alright?" He patted the top of my head affectionately.

I grinned despite my fit of the sulks. "I should be saying that to you, given what happened to you after your last time swimming."

"I don't think Morgan will be trying that one again," he chuckled. "Bye, Kenny."

"Later, skater."

After about an hour, my phone suddenly, mercifully, buzzed.

So sorry, I was caught up working at the museum with Gareth and left my phone in the office. Is now a good time?

My heart leapt. Was now a good time? It had to be, because I needed to see him, needed to know. Ordering myself to "keep it casual for god sakes" I texted back,

No problem. Sure, come over now. It's just me here. I'll be in my room, use the balcony or the front door or whatever. I hear you can walk through stuff.

Nice; casual and funny. Look at me work.

Don't believe everything you hear. Be there soon.

I scampered off of the couch and straight into my room, where I hurriedly tidied things like a nervous teenager and assessed myself in front of the mirror to make sure everything checked out. When I was satisfied I decided on lying stomach down on my bed, reading that book which I'd given up earlier.

A tap on the glass door made me look up sharply a little while later. I beckoned him in, heart in my mouth.

"Hey," he grinned lazily, "fancy seeing you here."

Seeing him standing there, watching me warmly, somehow made the feelings of anxiety and insecurity that I'd been plagued with for the past few hours vanish off into the ether to be replaced with a sense of calm self assurance and a new idea.

I rose slowly off of the bed, noticing with satisfaction the way his eyes followed me.

"We've got to stop running into each other like this," I purred, stepping closer to him.

"Have we?" he asked. I wondered if Ewan would be so confident without a mask.

We'd soon find out.

"No, perhaps not." I stopped inches from him and reached out to slide my hands up his chest and along onto his shoulders, while I hovered my mouth a whisper from his.

His breathing hitched, but his voice was steady. "I can't think of a single good reason to do that."

"The eternal optimist," I murmured, before I closed the gap entirely and lost the ability to speak.

Letting him pull me in as tightly as possible, I laced my fingers around the back of his head, under the dark folds of the hood and immersed myself in the moment.

When I figured his senses were reeling sufficiently, I drifted my fingers down to trace his face and pulled away a little to finally take the plunge.

"Ewan?" I whispered close to his ear.

"Mmm, Kenna?" he murmured back.

And then he froze.

It was a dirty trick, really, but I barely felt guilty as I drew back to search his face and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest.

"Can you take off your mask?" I asked quietly.

He kept staring warily back at me, but in a moment the mask began to ripple away like a fading reflection.

There, in Enigma's place, stood Ewan Hamilton, watching me anxiously.

"Please say something, Kenna," he pleaded after a silence, not moving to touch me. I remembered that I'd once said something awfully similar to him.

"Oh thank god it's you," I exhaled sincerely. His face lit up, and it probably says something about my personal character that a wicked impulse hit me right then. "I was so worried it'd be Grant."

"Horrible," he growled, and then belied the words by pulling me ferociously back to him. I giggled before committing to kissing him back with an intensity that matched his own.

WELL.

YOU GUYS. You made it here!

This chapter is dedicated to all of you perfect sunflowers who have been patiently (and not so patiently! hehe) waiting and wondering and guessing all along!

And look @amyreed17 she finally thought of Ewan!! ;)

What do you think of how things have turned out? Are you happy/disappointed/YOUKNEWIT/HOWCOULDYOUDOTHISTOME/deeply apathetic?

For those of you who hoped it might be someone else, I'M SORRY AND I HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE ME.

In the next installment....

K+E have their 'wtf?!' conversation and muchmuchmore!