So, this is a non-canon omake. Originally it was going to be a lot longer but I ended up cutting it down a lot. I also ended up sort of shifting plots halfway through this omake because of that but I'm willing to leave this as negative space if someone wants to explore this stuff. This omake is very loosely placed in the same universe as the "The Boyfriend" omake but it isn't a hard and fast thing. I hope you guys enjoy it as this is my belated happy Valentine's celebration. I'll try and get some more stuff out this week and if you've got any questions feel free to ask them. Without further ado here is the omake, written in less than an hour (but I did do all the skeletoning well in advance).
Non-Canon Omake: Cassandra's Perfect Valentine
Jinx
So, Cassandra's relationship with Hiro had somehow managed to last about two years and now they were coming up on Valentine's day which meant Cassandra was going full control freak about things. Normally Jinx would just let her friend run the show, after all Cassandra lead and she followed and that was the natural order of their relationship, but in this case it was incredibly annoying and so Jinx naturally felt the need to try and keep Cass's more extreme neurosis in check. Jinx understood wanting to have a perfect day and all but attempting to construct drones to corral any and all birds that might cross her path so as to maximize the evenings ambiance was a step or five too far in Jinx's opinion. Jinx wasn't exactly having a great time dealing with all of this even if she was happy to help her friend with this.
Part of the issue Jinx had was that she just didn't get why Cassandra cared so much about Hiro. Cassandra was supremely confident and quite frankly superior to most people on the planet. Jinx wasn't an out and out misanthrope, but at the same time she wasn't exactly fond of people and yet she liked Cassandra and so it irked her to see Cassandra so eager to compromise herself for the sake of her date. Jinx had tried the whole romance thing very briefly, Kid Flash was fun to tease, but she utterly and completely refused to alter herself or change her behavior for anyone else's sake. So, she simply couldn't understand why Cassandra was so willing to do so. It wasn't intolerable even if the mushy wordplay bullshit was incredibly annoying but Jinx just didn't get it.
Still, she'd support Cassandra through it regardless, Jinx didn't need to get why Cassandra felt the way she did since if it made her happy and Cassandra wasn't compromised then that was good enough for Jinx. She'd already checked with the biggest bossman and he'd approved of Cassandra's relationship, at least enough to let her waste time and effort on it, so Jinx settled for just making sure Cassandra was happy and sane. Of course, considering who Cassandra was and what she was capable of that wasn't exactly easy.
"So run this by me one more time?" Jinx flippantly questioned as Cassandra glared at her for apparently not taking her Valentine's day plans seriously.
"Absolutely everything about this date needs to be perfect" Cassandra began "I refuse to settle for mediocrity or mere adequacy. My relationship with Hiro is important and so I want everything going off without a hitch so listen to me when I tell you about what needs to be done! Anything that stands in the way of my perfect night needs to be completely and utterly obliterated"
Jinx wanted to roll her eyes at Cassandra's almost megalomaniacal speech but out of respect for her best friend she bit her tongue and remained somewhat respectful as she lounged on a couch in Cassandra's penthouse.
"Hiro will be flown out a few days before Valentine's day so as to minimize the effect of jetlag during the date" Cassandra continued "If you've finally got a working anti-jetlag spell I'd appreciate you casting it on him"
Jinx shrugged
"I've got nothing that doesn't potentially have horrifically nasty side effects" Jinx calmly replied to which Cassandra imperceptibly nodded "I could give you guys some kind of love potion or infatuation spell if you want to just take the easy way of having a perfect date?"
"No" Cassandra bluntly refused.
Jinx could kind of get why Cassandra would refuse to do so, after all unless you kept on casting the magic on the person in question, the relationship wouldn't last and having a serious relationship with a partner that lacked any sort of real agency wasn't exactly something that would reflect well on the controller. That being said Jinx still felt like it would be so much easier to just use a little mystical nudging here and there. No out and out control but managing relationships could be so much easier if you could just cut out all the work and the stress and the lack of security in knowing whether or not your partner loved and appreciated you. But Cassandra apparently wanted all of that stuff in her romantic relationships so Jinx wouldn't push for it. She'd put the option on the table and Cassandra had rejected it so that was all the discussion necessary on that front.
"I figured you'd say so but I wanted to give you the option" Jinx openly admitted.
"Thank you" Cassandra dryly responded "I wouldn't mind you using some kind of love spell as a holiday themed distraction for the Teen Titans if you could do so discreetly but if anything could be tracked back to us in anyway then it's not worth the effort"
"Alright got it that plans most likely scrapped for now" Jinx responded back smoothly "So Hiro comes in and is no longer jetlagged. What actually happens on Valentine's Day?"
As Cassandra laid out her various plans for a perfect Valentine's Day and Jinx had to constantly toss out suggestions on how to make things a lot more feasible and reasonable and just generally toning things done and keeping Cassandra's control freak tendencies at least somewhat in check and the budget for this date somewhat under control.
Of course, after all of that Cassandra promptly dragged her off to go and pick out what clothes she thought looked the best. Jinx was personally of the opinion that Cassandra could have worn anything and her best friend would wow her boyfriend regardless, but Cassandra was incredibly focused on looking good for everyone looking in on the relationship. Eventually Cassandra settled on a black and emerald green belted dress with matching gloves and heels. A jacket or a coat would likely be added if the weather looked to be cold later in the night.
Naturally picking out clothes for Cassandra meant picking out clothes for Hiro since Cassandra practically dressed her boyfriend whenever they went out in public. It was weird in Jinx's opinion, if you were going to be that controlling why not just use a flesh golem, but with Cassandra and Hiro is seemed to work well enough. Cassandra was certainly the more sartorial of the two so it's not like they ever looked bad or anything along those lines.
Lastly after all of the arrangements had been made it was up to Jinx to deal with the Teen Titans. Cassandra refused to have them crash her date and so it was up to Jinx to come up with a very noticeable problem for the Teen Titans to solve far, far away from her and her date. Jinx of course also had to make sure nothing got tied back to LexCorp. It wasn't easy but Jinx managed to come up with something serviceable if not incredible.
Jinx would through multiple proxies, give the criminal couple Punch and Jewelee a pair of mecha-suits with which to rob a diamond exchange. The crimes would be on brand enough and punch and Jewelee would wreak enough havoc that the Teen Titans wouldn't be able to afford to spare any manpower focusing on Cassandra. It would work well enough for what it needed to be.
And so, Jinx ended up wasting an afternoon satisfying her best friend's desires to have the setup for a perfect date. She didn't mind it overmuch as if Cassandra wanted this Jinx was fine giving it to her even if she didn't quite get all of the ins and outs of why she wanted it. Jinx still understood it a hell of a lot better than almost anyone else on the planet and she could work with Cassandra regardless. Still a part of her couldn't help but dryly point out that if the relationship continued to work out for the best, there'd be even more hell to pay when the two of them eventually got married.
Hiro Okumura
Hiro knew he was a lucky guy. Firstly, and perhaps foremostly he was born a super genius. Now some people might call that massively arrogant and lacking perspective, Hiro was well aware of how absolutely brilliant he was mentally. He ran circles around all but the greatest of mental giants, even genuinely brilliant individuals often struggled to keep up with his mind. Of course, it was that mind that provided him with safety stability and countless other blessings.
Secondly and much more obviously, Hiro had a beautiful, wealthy girlfriend who was genuinely interested in him for himself. While he had no doubt that his intellect made him a lot more useful to Cassandra than a simpleton or an ignoramus might, the fact of the matter was that Cassandra Luthor had her pick of superheroes, princes and more and yet she still chose to date him over all others and engaged with him intellectually. Cassandra was absolutely incredible in all of the most interesting ways.
Cassandra was undoubtedly brilliant, relatively speaking, but she still wasn't as effortlessly erudite as Hiro. She had to struggle and fight and work hard to achieve her brilliance. And yet despite all of that she welcomed when Hiro could challenge her and would strive to match if not surpass him as quickly as possible. Hiro had long been told that drive and hard work could overcome raw genius but until he'd gotten to know Cassandra, he'd never seen it in action. Cassandra might not have been as smart as him but she had a hunger and ambition like nothing else he'd ever seen before. Hiro found it all so very enchanting and so he couldn't help but get swept up in her ambitions and plans and grand schemes, especially since he had none of his own. He was content to support his girlfriend and to let her have all of the plans and ambitions while he still challenged her and encouraged her to occasionally go off the beaten path.
Of course, Cassandra was also beautiful in the more conventional sense. Not everyone found Cassandra's killer instinct, relentless drive to dominate and be the best and insatiable thirst for more to be beautiful, but almost everyone who was attracted to women could agree that Cassandra looked beautiful. She was elegant, attractive and her own mastery of her body showed in her smooth flowing movements that belied how utterly powerful she was. It didn't exactly take a rocket scientist, which Hiro was qualified as, to realize that in terms of appearance Cassandra was a total knockout.
And even if Cassandra had been ugly and idiotic, she'd still likely have been completely out of Hiro's league with just the pedigree behind her name. Cassandra Luthor was the only heiress of Lex Luthor and thus she was easily worth billions. Hiro had never met Lex Luthor in any meaningful capacity but he knew of how massive he was as an economic and technological juggernaut. The man had power and wealth so great that he could do his level best to waste all of it over several lifetimes and he still wouldn't run out of things to give. And Cassandra was the heiress to all of that.
She was completely and utterly out of his league and yet she'd still decided to be his girlfriend. Hiro knew full well how lucky he was. Cassandra had even gone out of her way to meet his parents and to be the best girlfriend she could be. So, when she wanted a few things from Hiro, he was more than happy to comply. He wore whatever suits she wanted him to and let her set the speed of the relationship because it was what worked best for the both of them. Relationships were built on compromise after all and Cassandra indulged in enough of his hobbies and interests for him to be more than happy to do the same for her.
So, when Cassandra invited him over to Jump City for a Valentine's Day celebration Hiro was all for it. He arrived well in advance and while he had no idea what was planned for the day thanks to some of Jinx's hints and comments he'd been prepared in advance for Cassandra's plans.
Whilst Hiro had never met Lex Luthor to any meaningful capacity he had met Jinx and she was practically an in-law in and of herself. The pink haired albino was often cruel callous and dismissive and whilst she understood Cassandra better than Hiro himself did at times, she clearly didn't understand how his relationship with her worked. Jinx pretty obviously didn't like Hiro and yet because he made Cassandra happy, she tolerated him and treated him with kindness. Hiro couldn't out and out say that he liked Jinx, he didn't share nearly the same amount of closeness or fondness as Cassandra did with the sorceress who was constantly in lockstep behind her, but he did respect her and value what she was to Cassandra. Dealing with Jinx was a part of his relationship with Cassandra and it was by no means like pulling teeth. Oftentimes Jinx was attempting to help, blindly following along in Cassandra's ambitions and desires. As someone loosely attached in a similar manner Hiro could hardly judge her.
So, when Jinx had given him advice on what to do and get, he'd heeded it and done what he should have. It was easy enough all things considered.
When breakfast on Valentine's Day rolled around, he'd had the expensive bouquet of flowers that Jinx had recommended he get Cassandra already prepped and ready to go. Cassandra no doubt figured out exactly how he'd come to get them but she still seemed to appreciate it nonetheless. The ensuing flirtation and feeding was enjoyable, Hiro would never be unhappy with his beautiful girlfriend deciding to get close and intimate with him, and it had Jinx promptly miming gagging and choking to death as the two of them exchanged cheesy romantic dialogue and bad puns.
Their time in the lab was entertaining and the various gifts they'd exchanged and made for each other were pleasant as well. Cassandra often liked to make sweeping grand gestures to him in order to prove that she was the best, even at being a girlfriend, and so Hiro had quickly gotten used to her constantly giving gifts. Hiro couldn't match her in terms of quantity or expense so he tended to try and give Cassandra more intimate and personal gifts when possible. Having Jinx give input as to Cassandra's favorite style of sunglasses or what kind of watch she might like or any number of things was incredibly useful.
It might've been a little odd to some that he was being told how to dress and following events on an itinerary for Valentine's Day but Hiro wouldn't have it any other way. This was Cassandra's way of showing she cared and she enjoyed it in and of itself. Cassandra wanted to have a perfect Valentine's day on her terms and according to her definition. Hiro would have been satisfied with just about anything she came up with but as his gorgeous date's eyes lit up as she laughed at some stupid joke he made whilst sitting in the middle of one of the most expensive restaurants on the West Coast of the USA, he couldn't help but be glad that she put in all of that effort because it seemed to make her happy. And for Hiro that was enough.
