St John the Divine: Bonnie & Clyde in Reverse
- Chibi Lurrel
Back to Bobby and Pyro!
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John's hands are covered with scar tissue, Bobby notices one morning. They had moved on from the tiny dingy one room apartment to a less horrible part of town. Storm still hasn't contacted him, but St. John had landed a five book deal with some big-name company and was waiting on the money to start rolling in. Since he'd moved in, they'd also foiled a drug ring and stopped three bank robberies. The first episode in crimefighting began with Bobby pulling a mask out of his pocket and Pyro running after him, shouting 'Goddammit Drake can't you ever stop being a hero?' He couldn't.
The knuckles aren't disfigured, and you'd have to squint really to see it all, but both hands are covered with a delicate web of burn scars, bumpy and completely non-uniform. His lifelines, though, are all fucked up, pink and raised. His palms look like they'd been mangled to bring good fortune in love.
'Hey,' he'd said, interrupting a necking session on their relatively new couch.
'What happened to your hands?' Pyro had pulled away and looked at him, straight and deep into his eyes.
'That's. Uh. Well, just look at this,' John said with a shrug and pulled his lighter out of his pocket. The wrist braces were too bulky for street-clothes wear, they'd both decided.
'You should, uh, probably let go of me so I can stand up.'
John stood up after they disentangled themselves, lighter in hand. He flicked it open and suddenly there were two fireballs, one in each hand.
'Great, I'm super impressed,' Bobby said and rolled his eyes a little. Pyro's eyes had just narrowed and flickered and suddenly they were two fire engulfed hands, blindly bright and clenched into fists. Pyro had made a hissing noise and grunted under his breath, and then his hands went out.
'Couldn't you, uh, do that before? Like back in school.'
John sat back down and rubbed his hands together.
'Sort of. That was a lot harder back then, I had to keep a layer of oxygen between the flames and my skin. This, this just sits right on my hands and fingers. Stings like a motherfucker, though.'
'But they just look a little pink right now.'
He turned and grinned a little crookedly at Bobby.
'Practice makes perfect.'
The scars made Bobby remember the long hours in the Danger Room, turning himself into ice piece by piece. The first time it had happened it had been a total accident that had taken months to replicate. But turning himself into ice didn't hurt, really, he'd never accidentally given himself frostbite or anything. He didn't even think he could be hurt by his own power anymore, and it confused him that John could still be so vulnerable to the element he controlled.
'Here.' He took John's hands in his own and cooled them down. John winced.
'Give a man some warning, dude,' he said.
'I guess, I guess the training must have been pretty intense then?'
John made a face. 'Look, Bobby, I don't really want to talk about it. It wasn't the Danger Room for goddamned sure.'
'That shit isn't all fun and games, you know. It got a lot harder after you left.'
'Yeah, well. Magneto was all about – look, seriously Drake, I'm sorry I even let you ask. Can we just get back to making out?'
'I don't know why you get all cagey like this when I ask you questions. It's not like you need to be ashamed of yo-'
Pyro's eyes narrowed. 'I'm not fucking ashamed of anything, especially my damned past, okay? Jesus Christ, Bobby, you really know how to kill a mood.'
'Hey, hey!' Bobby held his hands out in apology. 'It's just. I like knowing things about you. Things I know you don't tell other people. I want to know everything about you, St. John Allerdyce, I don't know why you keep making yourself into some big dark mystery.'
Pyro sighed, clearly not placated in the slightest. 'I appreciate the sentiment but the only person who knows that much about me is dead, okay, and since you're not about to go hang out in the amusement park that my mind apparently is I'd like it if you drop the subject.'
Bobby frowned, his forehead creased. 'But you could tell me someday, right?' he asked softly.
'Maybe. Maybe someday, but not today.'
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Author's Note: Another thanks for the reviews! They make me feel loved. Any complaints, concerns, criticisms, or care you'd like to send, don't hesitate to type.
