Self Destructing Messenger

#32 - 50 Shades of Nope

"I kinda need someone to talk to about everything," Pyro said as he walked next to Azalea. Over a week had passed since the malling and every single one of them had been pretty miserable for the crimson crusader. His hand hurt like hell and had even required a trip to the ER. There, a nurse had basically taken a glorified cheese grater to his palm, removing a few layers of flesh. He imagined she saved the shavings to top her Hannibal Lector style pasta because HOW IS THAT A MEDICAL TECHNIQUE? And then there were all the faces of dead people he saw every time he closed his eyes.

Azalea made a small noise in acknowledgment as they traveled through the corridor leading out from Pyro's apartment. There had been a V3 meeting to discuss the new structure with the addition of Elaine. The Man in Black wasn't there as he had yet to show back up from where ever it was that he had flitted off to. The vigilante pow wow hadn't taken long and afterwards Pyro had suggested a stroll. It was totally worth it to see Cayce's expression when she ditched him with the wonder twins.

"Gia just freaks out and I-" Pyro stalled, not really sure how to say what he needed to express. Azalea waited. Finally he decided to go the blunt route. "I don't know how you do it. How do you handle seeing all that death?"

Azalea glanced around, wondering how many neighbors might have their ears pressed against the doors. It wasn't the best place for such a conversation. "I don't know," she said, quietly. "I usually don't know any of the people so it doesn't really bother me."

He frowned. "But there were kids up there Az. Little kids. Half of them probably up there to take pics with Santa or something."

"If I thought like that, imagined their lives, I'd have killed myself a long time ago."

"God don't say things like that right now," he begged, despair written all over his face.

Before she could utter an automatic apology, the Man in Black appeared at the end of the hall. He made his way over to the couple much to Pyro's intense displeasure.

"Don't say things like what?" he asked. "Kill? Death. Destruction. Murder. Blood blood blood." Each word was spoken with a different intonation. His jacket was pristine.

Pyro narrowed his eyes at the man. "Don't push me, Psycho."

The Man in Black mimicked Pyro's tone. "I don't have to, you'll fall anyway."

"Guys," Azalea said. It would be nice if they didn't make spectacles of themselves. A fight would be pretty one sided and another person was making their way down the corridor. She did a double take. The approaching man was in full formal wear, a black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt. He was an older man of small build with slicked blonde hair peaking out from under his top hat. In his hands was an enormous, glass vase of red roses. It would be fair to say that he stood out somewhat. The man simply moved right past them. He never gave them a second glance which Azalea thought was the freaky cherry on top of the suspicious sundae.

However she didn't have too much time to dwell on it as she saw Pyro lunge forward. Almost immediately he began to fall, hexed by the Man in Black. She grabbed him, steadying his large frame as best she could. "Damn it!" She hissed, the crimson crusader draped over her. "No! No hex-"

Her sentence was cut off as Pyro pulled her into a passionate kiss.

The man in the tuxedo never looked back but his lips twitched, a flash of a smile. He stopped at Pyro's apartment door. He knocked and seconds later Gia answered. The teen frowned at the odd formally dressed person.

Cayce walked up behind her. "Damn it Gia, we don't answer doors like that around here not after-" he stopped mid sentence as he was pretty sure this was exactly the kind of situation the door rule had been put in place for.

"No need for concern, sir!" The snappily dressed man said, jaw clenched, eyes shining. "I've only brought roses for the lovely lady!"

He tucked the vase under one arm, yanked the red flowers from the glass and thrust them towards Gia. Liquid dripped from the stems and pooled on the floor but she didn't take them. Instead she turned on Cayce, threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. He started to mutter a protest but couldn't find the words or the will. It's also quite hard to speak with two tongues in your mouth. His hands slowly came down, stopping at her waist as if they had a mind of their own.

This was what he needed. Something simple, something good, something unlike all the s@#$ he had to go through since he met Azalea. His fingers snaked the edges of her shirt, lifting it, teasing the naked skin there. Gia whimpered, arching into his touch. And then he broke contact but not because he wanted to. Elaine forcefully jerked him around by the belt at his waist and led him towards the couch with the brunette at their heels. She shoved him backwards, kneeling between his legs. The redhead began the task of removing all genital obstacles starting with his belt. Not to be outdone, Gia tossed her shirt aside and straddled Cayce, placing his hands on her breasts as if he needed any encouragement. Yes, this was what he needed.

The man in the tuxedo watched this and laughed, a deep, low sound that didn't match his appearance. He then threw the roses over his shoulder into the hall. With the vase in both hands, he skipped into the living room, ignoring the early stages of a threesome happening off to his right.

At the coffee table he encountered Hunter. The black shepherd and the man in the tuxedo stared each other down.

"Just who's side are you on biscuit breath?" The stranger asked in that unnatural low tone.

Hunter replied by crouching down and wiggling all over.

The man threw back his head. "Ha! Then lead the way my canine comrade!"

Hunter jumped up and bounded around the man's feet while he danced around the apartment. His movements caused the liquid in the glass to spill, irregularly coating everything he waltzed near. All the while his laughter never ceased.