The Apartment Complex

[Pyro]

Pyro sat on the couch flicking the zippo open and shut. His heart was racing. With each flick, his anger went up a notch. How dare they come into his house. How dare they take her. The only woman who half way understood him. He had made up his mind a long time ago that Celia had been his soul mate born the wrong gender.

“I will make them pay. I swear if they hurt her. . .” He couldn’t even finish. He was seething.

He jumped up and put on his coat. Grabbing his keys, he left the apartment slamming the door after him. He walked down the corridors with purpose not even stopping to ride the elevator down. Instead, he ran down the steps. His rational mind unconsciously trying to run off all this energy.

When he finally reached the front door to their apartment complex, he could have sworn he saw. . .but it could not be. Could it?

He watched as the big man got out of the jeep. His eyes focused on Celia. Slinging the door open, he stalked towards the two.

“Wha’ is going on, Spades?” he asked Celia who blushed.

“You brainwashed her.” He fumed at the big man knowing what was going on. “I will not loose her too.”

[Colossus]

“You brainwashed her.”

The big russian balked at the accusation, he hadn't done anything of the sort, and neither had the Professor... "I have done no such thing," Peter replied, his stance shifting slightly, taking on a more defensive posture...

“I will not loose her too.”

"Lose her? Well, perhaps, tovarich, it would be a good idea to offer her more than a life filled with petty theft and shallow vengeance..." Peter was as chivalrous as ever, moving ever so slowly between Pyro and Celia, making sure that if things did kick off, the russian would be able to protect his companion...

[Pyro]

"Lose her? Well, perhaps, tovarich, it would be a good idea to offer her more than a life filled with petty theft and shallow vengeance..."

Pyro’s eyes narrowed in apprehension. Of course they would never admit it. He knew how they worked. Had Colossus forgotten. He had been an X-men for a short period before turning his back on them and rejoining the Brotherhood.

“I know how your team works. You and your friends came here, mate. Busted down the door and attacked Spades.” His accent become heavier with each word. He was not happy.

Clenching his right fist, he ignited Celia’s Zippo so he could manipulate the fire. “Her only way out was to join you or be handed over to SHIELD.”

His eyes flashed a brilliant red it seemed as he shot a blast of fire towards the enemy. One of those who would take Celia away.

[Spade]

“You brainwashed her.”

“I will not loose her too.”

Celia’s eyes widened at Pyro’s accusation. “Pyro, no, it’s nothing like that.” she tried to explain.

It was too late. Piotr retaliated. His words seemed to cut Pyro even deeper.

"Lose her? Well, perhaps, tovarich, it would be a good idea to offer her more than a life filled with petty theft and shallow vengeance..."

Celia was about to cut him short when she saw Pyro’s fist clench. His fingers trembled.

“I know how your team works. You and your friends came here, mate. Busted down the door and attacked Spades.”

“Her only way out was to join you or be handed over to SHIELD.”

Her thought were interrupted as she felt Pyro power up. She felt the flames before they were even shot off. She pushed Piotr out of the way.

She held her hands together matching Pyro’s fire blast with her own hydro blast.

“Pyro, stop.” she told him as she started overpowering him. “You know I have to do this. You know the brotherhood never really was for me.”

[Colossus]

“I know how your team works. You and your friends came here, mate. Busted down the door and attacked Spades.”

“Her only way out was to join you or be handed over to SHIELD.”

Peter's brow shot up at the accusation, still somehow surprised at Pyro's incredibly skewed point of view... He should have expected it, he really should have, but his inherent optimism didn't allow him to...

Peter noticed the heat increase, and was about to jump in to protect Celia when she interrupted him, throwing herself into harm's way and matching Pyro's heat with her own water-based ability...

“Pyro, stop.”

“You know I have to do this. You know the brotherhood never really was for me.”

Peter could wait no longer... His skin rippled as it took its metallic sheen, and he stomped as he walked forward, letting out a low growl...

"Stop. NOW." Peter would not take no for an answer...

[Spade]

Celia watched as Pyro’s blasts stopped completely. She saw the tears that ran down his cheeks, and her heart broke. “Pyro.” she said ending her blasts as well.

He was soaked, yet she knew he didn’t care. He walked past her only to pause in front of her. There was nothing threatening about the way he moved. “You will always be my angel.” he whispered so only she would hear. He leant in and softly yet quickly kissed her lips before side-stepping her and disappearing down a dark alley.

“Does it always hurt this bad?” she asked as tears started to fill her eyes. She would not let them fall.

With the hardest part out of the way, she led Piotr inside and up he stairs. Soon they stood in front of her door. She unlocked it with her key and lipped inside.

It had been cleaned up. There was no physical evidence of the fight. Still sad, she walked over to where her incense was. Feeling in her pocket, she found the Zippo. She lit the incense making the entire living room smell of it.

[Colossus]

Peter watched the short scene unfold, his skin reverting back to its former state when he realised that the young fire manipulator had no intention of causing any more trouble... He watched them say their goodbye's, then he followed Celia up to her appartment, not answering her question as to whether it always hurt so much, as he just didn't know either...

When they arrived, and he'd followed her inside, he looked around curiously, intrigued by how she chose to decorate her home... When she lit the incense candle, the smell didn't sit well with him, but he didn't give her any reason to think he was uncomfortable...

[Spade]

Celia looked up. Tears streaked down her cheeks. She left Piotr in the living room. After about five minutes, she came back with three sketch books.

“They’re not my best work, but they’re my most recent. You can sit on the couch or love seat and look at them while I pack the stuff in my room.” She told him handing him the books.

She then left him with his thoughts as she headed back to her room. She had not said he had to stay in the living room. In a way, she hoped he wouldn’t. She hoped he would follow and keep her company.

She went to the hall closet and pulled out a few boxes. She had the tape in her room. Dragging the crushed down boxes to her room, she folded them into shape, taped the bottoms together, and started filling them up with her clothes and shoes.

[Colossus]

“They’re not my best work, but they’re my most recent. You can sit on the couch or love seat and look at them while I pack the stuff in my room.”

Peter took the sketchbooks, beginning to look through them as she disappeared... He spent a few minutes wondering what he should do, all the while continuously impressed by her work... He was no critic, and he rarely considered his own work to be that special, but her work... It was quite impressive, and even made him a tad envious...

Eventually he realised that he was being rude, so he followed her into her room, wondering if he could help...

"May i assist you, somehow?"

[Spade]

Celia laughed softly. “Are you always the gentleman?” she asks. She had already gotten two boxes done by the time he came in. She was working on the third which would be her shoes.

“Well, if you want to take those other two out to the jeep, you can. Tell me what you thought of my sketches, first.” She replied.

Her eyes locked on his expectantly. She knew he went through the third one. It was the one where she sketched each of her lovers while they slept nude. She wondered if he figured out they had been real people or if he thought they were just random ones she came up with.

[Colossus]

“Are you always the gentleman?”

Peter wondered if she was being genuine or sarcastic, he wasn't well versed enough to know either way, so he chose to believe she was genuine, though an answer wasn't exactly forthcoming, given how terrible he was around women... So all he did was shrug, his face a mixture of embarrassment and modesty, both genuine in their own way...

“Well, if you want to take those other two out to the jeep, you can. Tell me what you thought of my sketches, first.”

Peter nodded, clearing his throat...

"Well... I... Umm... They are all... How do you say... They are excellent, in my opinion... I did not get to look at all of them, but from what i have seen, you are quite talented... Better than i..."

[Spade]

Celia laughed softly. He was kind of cute when he was all innocent and shy.

"Well... I... Umm... They are all... How do you say... They are excellent, in my opinion... I did not get to look at all of them, but from what i have seen, you are quite talented... Better than i..."


“Did you look at the one on the bottom? If not, I’d save that one for later.” she told him.

She taped up the third box filled with her shoes and moved to the fourth one throwing in all her toiletries and beauty supplies. It was quickly filled as well. She then taped it up too.

“Well that leaves my incense, my beddings, my fountain, and that’s it. Not too bad, eh?”

[Colossus]

“Did you look at the one on the bottom? If not, I’d save that one for later.”

He could only imagine what she had meant by that, and he decided to heed her advice and refrain from looking at whatever she was talking about... His own curiosity, though, did gnaw at him slightly, as it always did... Most people who knew Peter knew that he looked at the world with a sort of... Child-like wonder, an innocence, no hint of cynicism within his mind...

“Well that leaves my incense, my beddings, my fountain, and that’s it. Not too bad, eh?”

"Yes, you travel light," Peter joked, noticing the various boxes stacked up...

[Spade]

"Yes, you travel light,"

Celia laughed softly. His humor wasn’t completely gone. She was glad to see that maybe had momentarily forgotten his troubles.

She pulled out a small caboodle and filled it with her lighters and incense packets. She then pulled out the small box that her fountain had come in. She started taking it apart.

“I don’t think I will take anything off my bed except my favorite pillow. What do you think?”

Her hands were on her hips. She sniffed under her arms. “God, I stink. Mind if I take a shower and change?”

Her lips were puffed out in a perfect pout.

[Colossus]

“I don’t think I will take anything off my bed except my favorite pillow. What do you think?”

Peter thought for a moment, he hadn't been sure how he could be of any help bar lugging heavy boxes, but now she had asked his opinion, and he didn't want to say something stupid... Yes, Piotr, that is it, make a fool of yourself in front of yet another person... Somehow, as he opened his mouth, he knew he wasn't going to have much luck...

"Umm, whatever you think, i guess..."

“God, I stink. Mind if I take a shower and change?”

Peter had been told that what people said usually had a double, or hidden meaning, so he tried to figure out if she was trying to suggest something, or if she genuinely just thought that she wasn't at her best...

"Umm... Sure, as long as you do not try to sneak out of the window," He replied, only then realising that she might have not considered that as an escape route, and that she might be now thinking and weighing up her chances...