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"So, I’ve been meaning to ask. How long did you know for, blondie?”
The voice from the shadows above him was more of a growl.
The person being addressed was indeed blond as described, and would have appeared to be an entirely average, conventionally attractive, Caucasian male, were it not for a right arm that looked to be completely composed of some sort of black metal/ceramic material, that pulsed softly with constantly shifting golden patterns. His yellow jacket was cut to accommodate it and, indeed, highlight it.
Doug Ramsey, often known as Cypher, had finished a long day’s work as the Voice of Krakoa (Two Quiet Council meetings (one regular and one emergency), three meet-and-greets of new arrivals, two open “town hall” sessions to listen to new ideas and catalogue concerns, and a chat with Sage and her team about implementing some of the suggestions), and gone looking for some relaxation, which had naturally brought him to the Green Lagoon, Krakoa’s favourite bar and night-spot.
Rather than diving straight on to the dance floor, he had been lounging by himself in a small booth near the back, waving politely at people he knew as they passed (though they respected his clear desire to be left alone), and basically lying back in his seat listening to the music that drifted through the place as he sipped his drink. He was absently analysing the lyrics and patterns of notes from various mutant performers at Open Mike Night, trying to see if he could get into the right mood for maybe a little dancing, and admiring the sunset, when the voice had disturbed him.
He finally looked up, and was unsurprised that the speaker descending from the rafters was a purple dragon, about three feet long from snout to tail and with a matching wingspan. Despite having to beat his bat-like wings to stay aloft, the dragon was carrying in his claws a container of something so potent the haze of alcohol rising off it was visible to the naked eye.
Doug motioned for the dragon to join him if he wished.
“I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Lockheed” Doug replied, with a broad grin.
Doug himself looked supremely unembarrassed about taking a pull, via a long twisty straw, from his tiki tumbler, which contained an unfeasibly large number of paper parasols and little bits of fruit on sticks emerging from it. This was the universal sign that the drink could either corrode glass, or had the same alcohol content as distilled water, with no in-between. It would have surprised no one who knew him that this was the latter category.
Lockheed landed on a the booth’s table with a small scrabble of his claws, though he didn’t spill a drop from his drink.
“Don't give me those big innocent baby blues Ramsey, I’ve always meant to ask you since you came back, when did you realise I could talk?”
Doug feigned surprise almost as badly as he feigned innocence.
“So you did finally put that together?” he said, in perfect Flock-ese, the dragons’s native language.
He switched back to Krakoan, his point made “Well, honestly, it took me longer than you might think. I was very new to my powers when I met you properly as you, and not... y’know... as Kitty’s weird pet gila monster...”
“Watch it” growled the dragon.
“hyphen Xavier School’s mascot"
“Grrrrrr”
“hyphen mini-kaiju?”
“Better”
“…so it didn't occur to me that I was the only one who could understand you. You barely made it into the top ten things of I was in culture shock about at the time. Though given some of the language you used… Wow! Marine Corps Drill Sergeants wouldn’t use half those words. In hindsight, no-one reacting to that should probably have tipped me off faster.”
A dragon chuckling is an unusual sound, “And you didn't say anything about it because...?”
Doug shrugged, “By the time I realised what was going on, I figured you had your own reasons for not wanting people to know. And if you could say the things you said about anyone up to and including Professor Xavier AND Logan, and meant any of them, I did not want you mad at me. So I never told anyone either. Plus, you had that whole ‘breathing fire when annoyed’ thing going on which was not something I wanted to be on the wrong side of.”
This time the chuckle was more of an outright laugh.
“I always knew you were a smart one. I cut you a lot of slack, Dougie-boy. Kate was fond of you and, once you got over your goo-goo eyes stage with her, you were good for each other. You made each other think, and you made each other laugh, and that's always a good combination. Losin’ you left her more upset than just about any other time I ever saw her.”
The smile faded from Doug’s face. “So I’m told.”
He took another ostentatious sip of his drink and tossed an errant pineapple chunk in the air and caught it in his mouth to change the subject “Where is Kit… I mean Kate?”
“Where she always is when we make it back here. Having a girls night with Illyana.”
“Ah, one of those,” despite his best efforts, Doug's eyebrows rose and fell as he said it.
“Hey don’t knock it!”
“Hey, if it makes Kate and Illyana happy, I wouldn’t dream of it”
The dragon cocked his head, before taking another sip of what might possibly be paint stripper.
“So when did you realise that she might have a thing for blondes, as well as blonds?”
Doug grinned again, he’d made sure Krakoan deliberately blurred gendered terms but he could hear the difference. “Believe me, that was messier than you can imagine. My powers were expanding, and I was analysing and reading everything around me without knowing it.”
“So, not long then?”
“You’d think so wouldn’t you? But no, it took a loooong time. I mean, look at it from my point of view; I was a hormonal fifteen year old with great hair, and chronic self-esteem issues, hanging around with a bunch of equally hormonal and variously attractive teenagers with their own problems, and a bunch of incredibly good looking adults. My powers meant I was starting to get vague insights into word choices, body language,micro=expression and, god help me, even pheromones from EVERYONE, before I even realised what most of those things were. Overwhelmed doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
“I mean my powers did help me realise that Kitty liked me as friend, but was obviously not as into me as I was into her. I saw her around Piotr and had my doubts, but that wasn’t my mess to sort out. And then I saw her with Illyana and a little voice was telling me that I’d probably never stood that much of a chance anyway and Piotr was on thin ice.
And that was whilst there was all the standard X-Men flirting, Dani and Rahne being together without actually being together… and whatever the hell emotional game of dodgems Sam and Roberto had going on between them from week to week. It was like watching the most confusingly dysfunctional soap opera you can imagine with subtitles in six different languages you were still learning all of them.”
“And the English babe with the purple hair?”
Doug blushed...
“Betsy is one even I don’t talk about, probably better for all involved that way.”
Even Lockheed know to change the subject “So, are you seeing anyone now? That Technarch of yours making you an honest mutant of you anytime soon?”
Doug grimaced slightly “Warlock has never been MY Technarch, we’re still each other’s selfsoulfriends, but that’s… a bit complicated at the moment.” His human hand clasped his technorganic hand as if seeking reassurance somehow.
Lockheed noted this, but said nothing, as Doug continued.
“So, For now, no. I’m way too busy. I’ve got a lot of new friends though, like an entire sentient island, and renewed some old friendships, including a few I never expected. I mean, I was at Larry Bodine’s new holographic art exhibition over at the Krakoan Cultural Centre yesterday, it’s amazing. But romance-wise, no one special at the moment. But who knows what tomorrow will bring on Krakoa!”
Doug pulled a glacé cherry off another stick in his drink and mimed tossing it to Lockheed, who have him a suspicious look, but nodded. He caught it first try.
“And how about you, Lockheed? Anyone on the island catching your attention?”
If he was surprised by the question, the dragon didn’t show it. He considered his answer carefully as he chewed a cube of mango Doug also tossed him.
“I’m loyal to Kate, you know that, she’ll always be my girl. But that’s not to say that there aren’t some mighty interesting non-humanoid mutants here I grant you, and as long as they know I’m as sapient as they are, and are open to experimentation, then I’m not averse to new things.
Doug raised his tumbler, Lockheed lifted his container and they clinked in solidarity.
“But you still don’t mind the occasional scratching along your eye-ridges from random folk who just think you’re a cute animal, do you?”
“Hey, affection is affection.”
Doug shrugged "No judgement here. But now it's my turn to ask you, how many other people DO know you can talk now?”
“Not many. I’m still sort of hard to understand. Kate, you, Brand, probably Illyana, oh that Pete Wisdom guy from Excalibur, but I WANTED him to understand me, and no one ever believed him.” His snout formed a grin.
“But you don’t go broadcasting it?”
Lockheed glanced at Doug's arm “No, after all, we all like our secrets, don’t we Ramsey?”. He maintained as deadpan an expression as a purple dragon with an elongated snout can manage.
Doug didn’t blush, “Fair point.”
They had both finished their drinks by now and Doug lay back and listened to the music again, Lockheed relaxed too They gave each other a look, a little more comfortable around each other, certainly each knowing the other a little better.
Lockheed spoke first “I think that kid DJ is due to start his set soon, and he always has some great dance mixes. You heard his trance version of 'NYX Blues' yet blondie?”
“No, but you talked me into it, scaley"
Doug grinned and started to get to his feet. He was in the mood now, the soft golden pulsing of his right arm seeming to beat in time to the music.
So Mr Lockheed, would you care to join me on the dancefloor?”
“Why Mr Ramsey, I’d be delighted”
“And if I see anyone showing interest in you, I will be happy to be your wingman.”
“Hey, remember that I’m the one with the wings round here”
Bantering lightly, they sauntered off towards the rapidly expanding crowd of dancers. The night was young, and so were they...