Debrief [Tag: Nightingale]

[Pyro]

After Aurora had left with Poseidon and Mystique (MYSTIQUE!!!) had gone back to the plane, Pyro had stood for a few fleeting seconds looking after her retreating back. There were so many things he wanted to say, but now, at least, he seemed incapable of saying any of them.

With a little luck, there would be time enough.

Python wandered past briefly, his arms full of boxes and gave John an encouraging grin and even the sort of helpless shrug that said 'what could I do?'

What indeed.

The young man rubbed at his jaw thoughtfully for a minute or two, then he headed inside the compound and to his room, where he showered away the sweat of the morning's exertions. It had become such a routine to him now that the return of everyone else was leaving him feeling a little disoriented.

He emerged from the shower and clothed himself in his usual combats and t-shirt, noticing, with an almost embarrassed pleasure that they weren't so loose on him any more: there was definitely muscle building going on.

From there, he headed down the corridor, his hair still damp, to Angie's room where he knocked on the door.

"Angie? It's me. Pyro. You free for a while?"

[Nightingale]

After her retreat back to her room, Angie had unpacked a bunch of things and turned on the computer, putting on some music as she had a quick shower. She was dry and dressed now, in an actual dress that she'd gotten in New York, a plain white sundress that she thought would be a good thing to just wear 'around the house'. As much as the compound could be thought of in such terms.

"He knows just what to do when it, comes to the girls, he writes them poetry and he, brings them flowers..." A knock on the door startled her out of her singing, and the voice that followed startled her even more. She'd been planning on going to see Pyro sometime that evening, or maybe even the next day, so that she'd have time to push her feelings down and stop thinking about him and Mystique.

The song that she was listening to didn't help, MXPX singing out the chorus to 'Chick Magnet' as she stood to open the door.

"Yeah, of course." Returning to the computer, she turned the song off and glanced at the bag of things next to the desk.

Presents for Pyro, though she wasn't as confident that he'd like them now. She felt horribly inadequate when she thought of herself in comparison to Mystique, but she tried to push the feeling down as she looked back to him.

"Sorry for disappearing before, I..." Somehow the idea of saying 'I didn't want to watch your reunion with your lover,' seemed like a very bad one.

She motioned vaguely to the bed as she sat down on the computer chair, though she had a momentary wish that she had been able to see him in his office. Thinking of Pyro on her bed was a little... distracting.

[Pyro]

"Thanks," he said, entering the room and sitting down on the bed without any apparent embarrassment. He crossed his legs underneath him and she noticed that he was barefoot again. He did that a lot.

Pyro wasn't necessarily as stupid as some people may have taken him for. He was starting to realise, on a deep, subconscious level that Angie was perhaps a little more fond of him than he had previously realised. Yes, it had taken him a while to cotton on, but now that he had, it had brought up some sort of curiosity in him that needed to be explored.

Angie's a good person to talk to.

He heard Emma's super-suggestion tickle the back of his mind and looked at her. Yes, there was no doubt about that - she was a good person to talk to. He knew, from Python, how dedicated she had been to him when he'd been out of his mind, though his memories of that time remained thankfully sketchy.

Pyro liked Angie. He suspected that for her at least, 'like' was not enough. But he had no idea how to handle that sort of situation without making things worse. So for now, at least, he would carry on as they had been.

Funny. He'd never thought of it up until now, but Angie was a lot like Kitty in many ways.

That thought made him uncomfortable, so he shoved it away.

"So," he said, keeping his tone carefully neutral. "Tell me about what went on up in the Big Apple."

[Nightingale]

"Not much to tell... We did a bit of shopping - I have things for you, by the way - Aurora spent a little too much... Uh, tried to meet up with Hepzibah but nobody showed..." She shrugged uncomfortably. Surely he already knew what had happened in New York - she had called him, after all, and then Gill when she hadn't been able to get onto Pyro.

"Erm, had a quiet night, then went down to central park in the morning... Python scoped the place out," Angie was looking up at the ceiling as she tried to remember exactly what had happened, "Dead Man called..."

She looked slightly uncomfortable about that for a moment before returning to her former posture.

"And then Poseidon and Mystique showed up and we went back to the plane. No problems, no-one seemed to be paying attention, Python didn't even have problems with customs." She shrugged again. Would he want to know about the plane trip? It hadn't been overly eventful.

"What happened over here while we were gone?" It really hadn't been that long a trip, so she wasn't expecting too much gossip.

Scratching her head through damp hair, Angie looked just a little uncomfortable. She wanted to say something about Mystique, that she was happy for them or something, but she couldn't bring herself to lie so bare-faced.

[Pyro]

"It's been very quiet over here," he said, easily. "I spent a lot of time talking to Dharma - he's got me working with him on building new dwellings outside the main compound. He talked a lot about how all this metal -" Here, he rapped on the metal bedstead. "- about how it sucks all the lifeforce out of people, how it doesn't suit everyone. It's kept me out of trouble."

He smiled when Angie said that Aurora had spent too much - for some reason that really, really didn't surprise him. When she said she'd got things for him, his expression turned to one of surprise. "You got things for me?"

Damn it, why did that make him feel like a little kid? He'd been carefully cultivating 'aloof' all morning and now he wanted to bounce up and down on the bed.

[Nightingale]

"Dharma's a smart guy." She hated being in the little metal box that was her bedroom, with the harsh lighting and the angles and the sharp edges. She was interested to know what they'd been building.

Pyro's surprise made her laugh in delight - she had offered to bring him things, after all - and grab the bag to roll over to where he was sitting. Sliding a brown paper bag out, she set in her lap and left it there for the moment - that was something she'd gotten for him specifically, that she'd wanted to get ever since Baltimore.

Her feet resting on the edge of the bed, she started drawing out presents and feeling almost like Santa. None of these were wrapped, though, and she didn't have a hat on, so maybe she didn't quite qualify.

The biggest thing came first - an Xbox 360, since the older system was now outdated.

A pair of games was out next, and she explained, "Halo and Halo 2, they're compatible." She'd checked to make sure - Halo 3 wasn't due out for another year or something.

A handful of other games came out next, a few shoot-em-ups and racing games and one strategy roleplaying game that she'd liked the cover of.

Finally, she handed him the brown paper bag and waited for him to open it.

She'd been feeling terrible about Catch-22 ever since she'd left it in Baltimore, and hadn't known how to apologise. Though it wasn't the same book, with the years of reading and obvious sentimental attachment, she hoped that it would go some way towards making up for what she'd lost.

[Pyro]

She was rewarded with an escalating number of excited yelps and grins as he accepted the gifts from her. The Xbox 360 made his eyes glow, as did the production of Halo and its counterpart. "Finally," he said, glee evident in his voice. "I can get back to the misadventures of Master Chief Petty Officer SPARTAN John-117." He grinned. "I always liked that he was called John."

He set the box and the games down and took the brown paper bag from her quizzically. When the copy of Catch-22 slid out, he stared at it for a few moments, unable to find the words to say what he felt.

"I..." He picked up the novel and flipped through it, briefly, unable to tell her that the reason he'd been so sentimentally attached to the old version had been largely because of the fading passport pictures of his mother tucked into the inside back cover. "Thank you, Angie. For all of this."

He waved the book at her. "I've missed old Yossarian."

[Nightingale]

"It's no trouble." Angie shrugged, setting the empty bag on the bed in case he wanted it to carry his goodies away.

"As long as all the plugs and things fit, but I'm sure someone will be able to figure it out." That was part of the problem with being an island in the middle of nowhere populated from people all over the world.

Her feet were still resting on the edge of the bed, and she tucked her toes under the mattress to roll back and forth on her chair. The nervous movement made her feel like a child, but she didn't stop.

"I wanted to apologise about the other one, I wanted to give it back to you but you ran off so quickly..." Picking at her fingernails for a moment, Angie's expression was terribly guilty.

"I went back, afterwards, but I couldn't find it. I wish I'd had pockets to put it in." Everything had gotten so crazy so quickly that she'd almost lost herself in the fray.

"I'm sorry, John."

She looked back up at him, and things hadn't changed. She still looked guilty, but now she also looked sad for some reason. God, it was so hard to sit there and look at him knowing that she'd never have him and keep herself anywhere near cheerful. She thought she'd be able to manage it, but obviously she'd been wrong.

The repetitive rolling motion stopped.

[Pyro]

"As long as all the plugs and things fit, but I'm sure someone will be able to figure it out."

"Totally," he confirmed. "What Python and Gill can't cobble up between them isn't worth using anyway. It was true: they may not have been able to produce equipment that was as fantastic or amazing as something like the Danger Room back at the Institute, but they were certainly ingenious. It was like having your very own personal set of McGuyvers.

"I wanted to apologise about the other one, I wanted to give it back to you but you ran off so quickly...I went back, afterwards, but I couldn't find it. I wish I'd had pockets to put it in."

He only had the faintest of memories of giving her the book in the first place. Everything in those crazy few minutes before he'd run off to the warehouse felt like they had never happened. He remembered hearing Mystique's announcement that she was inside the building, remembered thinking that destroying the warehouse would be a good idea...

And nothing else.

When he'd realised his copy was missing, he had felt like he'd lost an old family friend. When he'd remembered the photographs, he'd felt like weeping. But there was nothing he could do about it, not now, and this really was a sweet thought - one that he appreciated with genuine warmth.

"I'm sorry, John."

"Don't be," he said. "It wasn't your fault. These things happen. As payback, you can learn how to play some of these games with me so I have someone to be better than." He gave her what he hoped was a warm, friendly smile.

[Nightingale]

Laughing, her expression no longer full of self-pity, Angie shook her head.

"I'm sure you won't have any issues with that. I was always more of a reader."

Her mother hadn't believed that video games were good for people, even though there were obviously things like hand-eye co-ordination that you couldn't get from books. Reading books with Read sitting next to you and glancing over your shoulder every few minutes could be frustrating, too, but Angie had done her very best to ignore that.

Picking at her cuticles again, Angie cocked her head to one side to look at Pyro with a half smile.

"I suppose I should let you go... Things to do, people to see."

Or the other way round. She pushed that thought away.

"Oh, and... I wish you'd told me about Mystique and Dead Man, it was a bit of a surprise, you know?" Shrugging, Angie tried to give a cheerful smile. Even though she wasn't overly cheerful about either of them, though for completely different reasons. It had been a bit embarrassing when Gill had confirmed their returns as though she should have known. But then, he must have expected that Pyro would have told her.

"Just, you know, next time..." If there was a next time. Somehow she doubted that Pyro would let them keep him on the island much longer.

[Pyro]

"Oh, and... I wish you'd told me about Mystique and Dead Man, it was a bit of a surprise, you know?"

He tipped his head on one side and studied her thoughtfully.

"I didn't know. Trust me, it's as much of a surprise to me as it is to you." The look he shot her was totally truthful, he wasn't just saying it to absolve himself of some sort of blame. "I wasn't expecting to see either of those again. Dead Man on account of - well, you know. Being dead, for starters. And Mystique because..."

He didn't continue. Because he had tried to burn her alive in a fit of insanity. It didn't sound very good, no matter which way you said it.

[Nightingale]

"Oh."

She blinked for a few moments, utterly confused.

Scratching one eyebrow with her little finger, Angie shrugged.

"He was dead. Er, is dead." Whatever Dead Man was, it was gross.

That she could touch him without losing any energy made her want to cry. Of all the people in the world...

She didn't really know what to say about Mystique. Her assumption that Pyro had known all about it was apparently wrong - unless he was lying, but she doubted that. What that meant for the young pyromaniac and the metamorph - incidentally, how old was she? - and their relationship was something that Angie would have to puzzle out over time.

Giving Pyro a warm smile, and feeling a little less self-doubt than she'd felt before, the young Australian stood and pushed her chair back toward the desk. Packing his things back into the bag, she sat down on the bed with her legs crossed under her white skirt, hands resting on top of the presents that she'd gotten for him.

"Well, you just give me a yell when you want to kick my arse at one of these, hey."

Looking down at her hands, she continued, "Or if you want to watch a movie or something - I picked up some DVDs while I was there." In fact, she'd picked up quite a few things to occupy herself while she was there.

[Pyro]

"When I'm not up to my eyeballs, I think I'd like that," he said. At the end of the day, for all he was the leader of the Brotherhood, Pyro was still just a twenty-year old boy. He needed to remember that from time to time: it helped ground him in reality, strangely enough.

"Oh!"

A sudden thought came to him.

"An old friend of mine got in touch. Dominic Petros, his name is. He's Greek. We've known each other for quite a long time and he's gonna be joining up with us. I have plans to go out and fetch him as soon as possible. I reckon you'll like him. He could charm the hind legs off a donkey and then persuade it to go for a walk afterwards."

[Nightingale]

"Oh?" Angie cocked her head to one side as she listened to Pyro talk about his friend.

"Sounds like a cool guy." She was willing to bet that she'd get no chance to play on the Xbox once this Dominic got here to occupy Pyro's time.

Probably wouldn't get much time with their young leader for herself, but that was a good thing in Angie's mind. She needed to stop thinking about him, all it was doing was messing with her head.

Pyro was supposed to be the crazy one in the room, after all.

"So Python's going to take you then, d'you reckon?" She'd been there for the argument over the last trip out, though knowing now that Pyro hadn't known about Mystique she was actually happy that he hadn't been waiting in Central Park. Who knew what would have happened?

In fact, Angie didn't even know what had happened outside. She'd have to ask Aurora sometime.

"Seems like we're getting some numbers, now."

She wondered what Dominic would be like. Probably similar to the rest of them - so, nothing like Angie. Well, it wouldn't be anything different for her to be feeling that she didn't belong.

[Pyro]

"Python will definitely be taking me," he said, confidently. "There's no argument about it this time. I'm capable enough to blend myself in - New York's a damn big place and most the people I know are centred in Westchester. All I have to do is steer clear and it's a doozy."

He picked up the bag of goodies and with the copy of Catch-22 held in his hand waved it at her. "Right, I'm gonna go chill out for an hour with this here book. I sort of got in the habit of getting up early, having a sleep in the afternoon and staying up a bit later. Seems to suit my rhythms. Plus...ah..."

He flushed slightly.

"I've started sleepwalking at night," he admitted, looking embarrassed. "Doesn't seem to happen if I sleep during the day, so..."

[Nightingale]

"Oh, well..." She'd drawn her hands back when he'd picked up the bag, but now she extended them toward him slightly awkwardly.

"Did you want me to check, you know, that it's nothing... physical?" Not that she thought sleepwalking was, but at least that way they'd know if there was anything she could do about it.

Otherwise they'd probably need Emma to chat to him again. Chat, mess with his mind, whatever they were calling it these days.

Angie's cheeks turned pink as she wondered what Pyro wore to bed.

She had a short argument with part of herself about picturing him naked.

Her cheeks turned red.

[Pyro]

Confused as to why she was blushing, John rubbed his nose for a moment. "You can check," he said, hesitantly, "but I'm pretty sure I'm just spending too much time thinking, is all. I think it's started since I started on the House at Pooh Corner with Dharma - y'know, getting relaxed and less tense. It's just stuff looking for a way outside my head."

He spun his finger round his ear self-depracatingly in the universal gesture for someone who was a couple of cans short of a six pack - but he was grinning.

[Nightingale]

She rolled her eyes and smiled at the motion, though she didn't say anything - since she'd joined the Brotherhood, there'd been plenty of times that Pyro had been far more crazy than he was now.

Scooting closer to him, Angie reached up to cradle his face in both hands. Her eyes went up to the ceiling again, as if she was thinking about something, and a slightly puzzled look appeared on her face.

Finally, she looked back down at him, her hands still holding his cheeks.

A part of her wanted to kiss him. A big part of her.

The slightly less insane part of her took control and dropped her hands back to her lap with a smile.

"In my professional opinion? Nothing I can fix. Maybe it would help to talk to someone though. If it's stuff looking for an outlet, you know?"

Shrugging, Angie rubbed her bottom lip thoughtfully. She seemed to be staring past him as she thought about something, but the tingling sensation that the motion caused brought her back to reality with a shake of her head.

"You know where to find me if you want to. Or Dharma would probably be a good person to chat to."

[Pyro]

"Said it wouldn't be anything physical," he said, easily, with a small smile. In fact, her brief assessment of him had indicated that he was perhaps even healthier than usual, what with taking his daily exercise and spending time out in the sunshine - and apparently sleeping more regularly. She'd sensed an inner, gnawing hunger, the sign of a man who still didn't eat anywhere near as much as his metabolism demanded.

"And I appreciate the offer. You are good to talk to. I've...thought that for a while." The smile was, unsually for Pyro, rather anxious. "But right now, I'm good. Just still a bit confused in the head department from time to time."

[Nightingale]

"Well, you know where to find me if you do want to talk."

She gave him a half smile, curious about why he'd be anxious.

A somewhat confused thought, about him not wanting to talk to her because he could tell she liked him, drifted up and was pushed back down.

"Or, you know, if you want me to make you some lunch."

He never ate enough. Angie suspected that his metabolism was quicker than most people's because of his mutation (and increased body temperature), but John didn't even seem to eat as much as a normal person.

She gave him a much brighter smile, apparently back to her usual cheerful self.