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"It can't be this easy," Brian said.
Pete sighed. "It won't be this easy. But I do believe that it will help."
"Should I move back a little? Am I standing too close? I can back away a bit and still get a good picture. (I hope.)"
"No, no, it's fine, Faiza. I mean, it's not fine. I mean - "
"You mean the idea of kissing another man freaks you out."
" ... That's putting it a bit strong."
"But basically accurate."
"But basically accurate. I mean, you haven't even taken off your sunglasses."
("What do Pete's sunglasses have to do with this?")
("I think it's just Bri's way of saying ... something.")
Pete took off his sunglasses. "Would you like me to tell you you don't have to do this?"
("So why Pete? Why not, well, just for example, you?")
("I'm afraid people might lynch me for being the American who turned Captain Britain gay.")
("They wouldn't. Would they?")
"You said that it will help. That it will make people more accepting."
"Not if you force yourself. You're not Captain America - and I'm not Tony Stark. This isn't about showing other people - although thanks to Faiza and her superhero blog, we'll be doing that, too. This is about you, accepting a part of the British population that's having a bit of a hard time getting accepted right now."
"Sympathetic magic."
"Yes."
("So if he suddenly decided to like strawberry ice cream better than vanilla, would everyone's taste in ice cream suddenly change? Because that would be sort of weird.")
("It's not quite that strong, I believe. But for the record, my favorite taste already is strawberry.")
"And this requires me to kiss you. Kiss someone. Another man."
"Be glad magic hasn't had its morals upgraded to the twenty-first century yet, or we could be required to do a good bit more than just kiss. By today's standards, a kiss is barely more than a fist bump."
("They do fist bumps. I've seen them do it.")
("It was just a fist bump, Faiza. We do fist bumps.")
("Yes, we do.")
"Maybe I should - no. The point of this is not to close my eyes and think of Britain, is it?"
"I have a date this evening. Perhaps we should call it a night, postpone it until some - hmph."
("Oh. Wow.")
("Aren't you supposed to be taking a picture of this? Not that they look like they're going to break apart any time soon. Um. They're still breathing, right?")
("I think so. Uh. How does this thing work, again?")
("That thing is your phone. You've forgotten how your phone works?")
("Uh.")
("Oh. Shall I ... ?")
("Thanks.")
("No problem. You can just ... keep an eye on things. Being a doctor and everything. In case there's a medical emergency.")
("Ah. Sorry.")
("What for? Nothing to be sorry about. Happy to help.")
"You were saying about a date?"
Pete slipped his sunglasses back on. "Dinner reservation for two."
"Sounds good."
("They're going on a date? They're going on a date. Captain Britain and Pete Wisdom are going on a date.")
("Huh. Definitely didn't see that one coming. That must have been some kiss Pete planted on him.")
("How do you know it wasn't the other way around?")