A Scripta

Michael already drew a rune before him, one that would deaden the loud music that was coming from the apartment. He'd be able to hear conversations a lot more clearly.

Michael smiled at Kevin, who had made the decision to tell his friends about his powers. This, Michael thought, would be a very interesting evening.

The door opened and the music would have blared out even louder if Michael hadn't put up the rune. "Kevin!" cried a young man with very long black hair, dressed very casually in a simple button down shirt and jeans. However, the buttons were undone until his mid chest. He hugged Kevin fiercely, and Michael watched him cop a feel on Kevin's ass. Michael raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

The young man bent his head in for a kiss, but Kevin backed away. "Sioux, this is my boyfriend, Michael."

Sioux stopped, but didn't release Kevin's hip. Michael stepped forward and gave him a look that he thought he'd never give anyone else, a look that said, "Get your hand off him or I'll rip out your intestines through your nose". Damn, Ares can be a really jealous type. Sioux finally removed his hand. Michael held his hand out to Sioux. "Nice to meet you."

"Same here," he said, and smiled, a predatory one. Kevin was right, he was going to get hit on all night. "C'mon in." Kevin took Michael's hand and led him into the apartment.

Michael thought for a minute he stepped into an Ambercrombie and Fitch photo shoot. Thin, young, strapping men were everywhere, most of them in shirts baring their chests and pants that barely hung off their hips. There were a few women, who he noticed right off the bat were lesbians. Tanya was tending bar.

A couple of people came up to Kevin, who, right after he said hello to them, immediately introduced Michael as his boyfriend. Michael took it to mean that he was off limits. But, like Kevin had warned him before, it didn't seem to stop the constant mental undressing these young men did of him.

Finally, one of them asked, "Where the hell have you been?"

Michael stepped back for this one. Kevin responded to the young man, whose name was Josef, "I took up the cape."

There was silence for half a second in the small group that had gathered around them. A blond man with his arm protectively around a massively-built dark-haired man, piped up and said, "You're a hero? With superpowers and everything?"

"Yep."

Word went around the party like wildfire at that point. The crowd around Kevin suddenly grew bigger. Michael stepped back, out of the circle. He found his way to the bar, and saw Tanya. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Kevin's going to show off," he said with a smile. "It's okay."

"Something about being a hero..."

"Yes."

"Are you a hero too?"

"Yeah," he said, and sipped something fruity. He inconspicuously drew a rune on it, like he had done with all his other drinks, to remove the alcohol.

Her eyes widened. "You have super powers?"

"No, not really, not like Kevin."

"OW, MOTHER FUCKER!" Michael turned to the crowd and saw a muscle-bound brute come stumbling out of it, holding his hand gingerly. Michael stepped away from the bar, while other people gathered around , watching him helplessly. Michael could see the man was in agony, barely holding back tears.

As Michael approached, Kevin came out. "Grim..."

Michael nodded, and went up to the man. "Let me see that."

The man looked at him with pain-filled eyes and held out his hand to him. Michael could tell just by looking at it that it was shattered. First, Michael drew a rune at the man's forearm, so that he wouldn't feel the pain of the bones reknitting. The man just stared at him, while he bathed his hand and wrist in green light. Even as they watched, his fist unknotted, and healed the bones entirely by feel, and the fractured wrist that the man had as well.

"This is going to hurt, I'm sorry." Michael removed the rune.

The man yelped, looked down at his hand. "What...what did you do?"

"Healed you. Don't punch my boyfriend so hard next time."

"I told you, Jake," Kevin said.

Jake merely glared at Kevin. Michael said, "Go get yourself a drink, Jake."

The crowd dispersed after that, and Michael went over to Kevin. "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, eh?"

"He came at me hard. He would have killed me with that punch."

"Got something against you?"

"I didn't think he did." Kevin kissed Michael. "Thanks for doing that."

"No problem. Want a beer?"

"I think I'll need one, yeah."

The crowd around Kevin had reappeared by the time Michael got back, but it was no where as large as it was before. Michael gave Kevin the beer, and Kevin slipped an arm around Michael's waist. "So you're a hero, too?" asked a brown-haired kid that looked no older than 17.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"You have powers?"

"Nope."

"He's a great mage," Kevin corrected, and drank from his beer.

"Just a mage," Michael said. "I'm a healer."

"Oh." Michael knew that wasn't as exciting to the masses as, say, Kevin being able to take a punch from a bear, but Michael knew it was just as important. So did Kevin, who squeezed his waist.

"I'm going to get another drink, love," Michael said, realizing his fruit drink was empty. He went back to the bar, after leaving Kevin with a kiss.

At the bar, he suddenly felt a hand on his ass. Michael's eyes narrowed, and he turned around to see a young man in his early 20's grinning drunkenly at him. Michael looked down at the arm attached to the hand attached to his ass. "Better take that off."

"You got a nice ass," the young man said. He reeked of alcohol. Michael knew Kevin would kill him, drunk or not. The young man squeezed Michael's ass.

"Not interested." Michael took a step forward, but the hand didn't move.

"Problem?" came Kevin's voice, deep and menacing. Michael glanced back at the young man, who was grinning at Kevin. Boy, he's really drunk.

"Your boyfriend has a nice ass."

Michael felt Kevin's aura flare. "Yes, he does. Take your hand off it."

The young man squeezed Michael's butt and started to take it off. He obviously wasn't fast enough, because Kevin punched him in the face.

He howled, stepping back, holding a hand to his bloody nose. Kevin grabbed Michael's hand and pulled him away from the bar. "I think it's time to go."