The Doctor is IN.

Temperance tilts her head a little at his first comment and shrugs some, “Hm. Think we all should, really.” smiling softly towards him as she takes her first bite. The heat radiating off of him surprises her.. It never ceased to. He was hot and not necessarily in a bad way either. The weather was turning quickly with Halloween coming up around the corner. Perhaps she might have the opportunity to use his heat to stay warm one of these cold, winter nights.

The thoughts leave a pleasant, thoughtful look on her features before she forces it to fade off looking back towards Dyeus with a couple blinks. His reaction to her whiskey makes her laugh a bit, “Yeah I should stop drinking, huh? Not like I’m gonna live long at this rate.” taking in a long swig of it to help wash down the bite. ”Don’t worry, I actually cut down on my drinking a bit. Got pretty bad after a while.. But… Guess I sorta.. figured out a reason to chill a bit.”

Seeing that smile, she couldn’t help but to smile in return. It was.. really nice, actually. So much so that she found herself leaning in a bit, eyebrow twitching up before she simply plants a kiss on his cheek, “Should smile more.. You look cute. As for Joe~” straightening as she picks at a piece of lettuce, “He’s.. in his 50s, old, retired guy.. Reminds me a lot of my Dad. Real mellow, very caring.. Runs a Sandwich shop outside Manhattan. He even donates some of his income to those effected by the outbreak.. trying to help those afflicted by tragedy. Good heart, Dyeus.. He’s worth keeping alive.”

The cold didn't phase him, but then again how could it? His body temperature would have to drop significantly for it to affect him...and even then he'd just get sleepy as a forced hibernation was triggered to keep him alive. He was reminded of Maddy's lab samples, kept locked nice and tightly in a freezer at a constant zero. The virus thrived under cold conditions, even though it was dormant.

He realized he let his thoughts wander a bit and brought his attention back to the current. At the mention of a drinking problem, memories he barely recognized flickered at the back of his mind that left a bad taste in his mouth. It took him a moment to realize it was from the original Alex...his mother.

"Hmm." He hummed and tried to shake off the memory. "It's good to find a reason to change. You're stronger than most for that-"

What was she- he went still as a statue as she leaned in close, uncertain of her intentions. Then, when he felt the little peck, he turned his head to stare at her with a look somewhere between deer-in-the-headlights and dumbfounded.

He was left speechless, and could only watch her and listen as she explained the hoagie maker.

Dyeus was unfamiliar with the reasoning behind such displays of affection...but he thought they were reserved for.. No, that couldn't be it.

#fireflysoldier

@sagethedreamer

sagethedreamer

She pouted up at him as he threw another lemon at her. “Dyeus!” She whined. A scream left her as all the lemons rained down on her, and she glared up at the cause when the last lemon finally bounced off of her head.

At the lemon now functioning as a crown she huffed in annoyance, pouting pathetically at him. “You know you love my lemons!” She said, slowly getting up from the couch. An evil smirk pulled at her lips as she quickly grabbed Dyeus and pulled him to the couch. She shoved him down and straddled his lap so he couldn’t get up. “You’re gonna pay for this.” She said as she pressed a harsh kiss to his lips. “And you’re gonna clean up all these damn lemons!”

Dyeus let the smaller woman throw him around like a ragdoll with a hint of a smirk. Although, it faltered a tad when he slammed down onto the couch. He gave the couch a nervous glance as it squealed in protest under his weight- Ikea didn't design things with him in mind...

When she straddled him he was conflicted- but those thoughts left as soon as her lips met his. Oh, so that's how it was going to be? He snapped his teeth at her, making them click harshly even though the action was playful. "No. You can't make me.~"

lightsabersandkatanas

"Who would actually do that though?!" Star coughed, looking at the other. "It’s just- Ugh…" He said,covering his face thinking about it.

#askstarkillerandabluscout

"The Europeans, apparently." Maddy squeezed Star's shoulder reassuringly. "Every culture has their seemingly unusual delicacies. I mean...Americans frequently eat stuff and they don't even know what's in it. It all sounds a little crazy if it's not familiar."

sagethedreamer

She wrapped her arms a bit tighter around him, rubbing his back gently. She leaned up to press a kiss to his lips, humming softly. She was glad that he was finally finding a way out of the darkness, knowing that he was okay put her at ease.

Looking up at him when he spoke, she smiled softly. “I love you, Alex.” She said, gently nuzzling into his chest.

A faint shiver jolted through him at the touch to his back, both because it felt nice and he wasn't prepared for it. He leaned into the kiss as he normally would, letting out a soft sigh at the velvety touch of her lips on his. Her warmth and kindness was the beacon that offered a way out of this horrible gloom he'd been stuck in.

Of course, he knew she couldn't fix him. It wasn't her burden...it was his. Regardless of that, he knew her love and support would make it easier for him to learn to heal himself. "I love you too, Sage."

before-the-infection

"Oh, just some donuts and other candies. You can get lots of it in bulk this time of year." He turns around and holds it up with a smile. He then goes to place the bag on the table and take off his coat.

"I figured a bad movie marathon was in order. That is, if you’re up to it. You don’t sound very good."

He seemed to perk up a little at the mention of goodies, his shoulders relaxed and some color returned to his cheeks. "If you have candy corn in there I'll love you forever."

Maddy offered to take Doc's coat for him to hang it up on the hook, mostly out of reach of his furry creatures. "I think that's an excellent suggestion."

#beforetheinfection

His reaction was, in her eyes, priceless and she was simply glowing by this point. ”Oh I’ve always been here. You just didn’t see me clearly enough.” Tempy says with a playful wink as she settles down on the edge of the roof, crossing her legs, “Hoagies - well, that comes with the territory. You get me, you get these babies. These are my life, man.. Can’t go too long without them or I start shriveling up like a grape in the Mohave desert.”

Tempy pulls a flask off her hip and unscrews the top. It was whiskey, so she figures he wouldn’t like it.. But she does offer him another flask with water in it. ”You seem to really like the hoagie.” she says with a growing smile, taking a bite of her own and chewing it as she observes the terrain in front of her. ”I’ll start asking Joe to make two of ‘em. He seems to enjoy when I come by so I bet he wouldn’t mind at all.” Joe being the old, retired Veteran she goes to for her Hoagies. The man was almost like a Father to her.. or an old Mentor.. Good thing he didn’t know what she did most of the time.

#fireflysoldier #hoagiehoagiehoagie

"Maybe I should be more alert to my surroundings." He said, thinking out loud as he came to sit beside her. He was close enough that his body heat- a whopping 115 degrees Fahrenheit on average- could be felt radiating from under his layers. "Well, we want to keep your shriveling to a minimum...where did you say you got these?"

He sniffed curiously at the flask, snorting immediately after at the harsh smell of alcohol and fermented grain. It was deceivingly sweet smelling, and even though he'd never actually tried it...he didn't particularly want to. When a separate flask was offered he took it warily and sniffed that one too... Ah. Just water. "Thank you."

"It's very good." He said with a genuine smile, showing off a rare sight of his dimples that only appeared with true happiness. "Tell me more about Joe. I want to make sure he doesn't die."

flops uselessly

I'm going to make an attempt at replies but I'm not feeling well so I might not get too far.

#ooc

before-the-infection

His eyes scanned his surrounding area. Not too bad. Plenty of room for his cats, and everything seemed pretty nice. He pondered how many bedrooms the place might have, but he shook the question off when he hears the door unlocking.

He held up one hand and waved with a smile, but dropped it as soon as he heard Maddy’s voice. Oh, man. Maybe he had come at a bad time… “Fuck, are you alright? You sound like shit.”

Maddy stepped aside so his friend could come into the entryway. His eyes were down, but not from how he felt...it was to watch for escape kitties. "I uh...just got up." He said with a hint of shyness. It was weird for him to be seen like this, without being composed and a mess.

He closed the door behind Doc and turned to face him, eyes scanning the bag he held. "What did you bring?" He asked, curious.

#beforetheinfection

sagethedreamer

She smiled up at him, glad she could put a smile on his face. It’d been so long since she’d seen him smile. Her arms wrapped around his waist as she shared more of her warmth with him.

When his expression changed Sage frowned, and she grew more worried for him. “Is there anything I can do to help you”? She asked.

He brought Sage closer so he could rest his head against hers, letting out a soft sigh through his nose. It was a mix of defeat and contentment; hiding everything for so long exhausted him more than he knew.

After a long silence filled with only their breaths, he sighed again and quietly spoke. "All I need is this."

lightsabersandkatanas

"… Well… That just… *Gags* That’s absolutely disgust- *Hurls in nearby trash can* Ugh…"

#askstarkillerandabluscout

"Oh dear-" He went to Star's side and put a hand on his back, rubbing slow circles soothingly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know it would make you LITERALLY ill."

@sagethedreamer

Original ask

Dyeus gave a low resonating laugh from deep in his chest and took another lemon in hand. Revenge was sweet!

A full yet still playful grin appeared and he let loose another lemon at her lap. Then walked over and decided to just dump the entire bucket on her. There was a waterfall of lemons and they bounced and rolled everywhere.

He picked one up before it could fall to the floor and propped it on Nyx's head. "You and your fucking lemons."

Noting his reaction, Tempy couldn’t help but smile some. He was clearly interested especially with the dilation of his pupils which was a distinctive sign of such. Stepping in closer, her hand pushes into the bag smoothly to grip one of the foot long hoagies before drawing it free. Another step closer, hooking the bag over her arm before she unravels the packaging of the sandwich and offers it forward as if it were served on a silver platter.

"Only the best damn food in the whole fricken world. A hoagie. And~ it’s all natural, home baked and healthy. The meats are range free cow, and pig, with the same for the cheese that’s on it. Organic Pickles, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, lettuce, onions—” Everything she names off is organic, and completely unprocessed. The bread even came special ordered. The guy who makes these for her knew how she loved her specialty hoagies. ”One is your’s. Try not to just absorb it.. Enjoy it a bit, kay?”

His eyes swept up to her face as she approached, a smile appearing as she described the food item. He was careful to keep it closed mouth and not bare his teeth. "This may come as a shock to you, but I do have some table manners."

Carefully, he took the hoagie and held it as if it were something precious- which in all honestly it was. It SOUNDED phenomenal; he could only imagine how it tasted.

Might as well find out, he thought as he brought it closer to his face. He sniffed it first before taking a small experimental bite. After briefly chewing, his face lit up and he hummed in approval. Oh my god, he thought, hoagies!

"Where have you and hoagies been all my life?"

#fireflysoldier

Madmercer

Temperance knew the dangers of the Red Zone but she now had a good reason for being here. So, here she was, back in the most dangerous part of Manhattan searching for the other reason she took such a big chance. With two delicious, perfectly baked hoagies in a bag, she approaches Dyeus atop a rooftop, “Hey, brought you something.”

Dyeus stood overlooking what he liked to think of as the metal graveyard, what was once an intersection was now cluttered with ruined military vehicles of all kinds. His trophies, as he liked to think of them.

The smell of something other than the usual gunpowder and gasoline met his nostrils and he turned his nose to the wind. Soon he heard footsteps and turned to face the woman approaching him.

His eyes locked on the bag, pupils swelling. "What is it..?"

#fireflysoldier

Hunters Hunted

He leaned into it.. Temperance noticed.. She took note and stores it away in that intelligent little brain of her’s quickly as it happens. It replaced the smile with a hint of confusion but she didn’t mind it at all, in all honesty. What was she doing to this poor creature?

When he grins back, her’s only grows, “Be faster if you carry me.” she offers. Regardless if he does or not, she would lead him through the thick of the chaos, through alleys, up along the length of buildings and across the narrow alleyways (unless she’s carried) using what parkour skills she had picked up whilst living on her own in the desolate Red Zone.

She takes him to what use to be a high end apartment building on the edge of central Manhattan. Using a modified and severely hacked keycard, she swipes it to let them in before carefully typing the iphone as they go to open and close multiple security doors from the lobby to get them to the lift.

Bringing them inside, she closes the wooden gate and smirks at the man, “Going up — Not quite the top floor. But it’s got an amazing view..” As they lift heads upward, Dyeus can see the caved in and wholly abandoned floors of the building she occupies. It was her building and she made sure nobody else would be staying here without her knowing about it. It would take a minute or so before they reached her floor, opening to a fairly run down looking place.

It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t top end either. Most of the furniture was in shabby condition with boarded up windows and barely any light coming through. The living room which was basically the only area worth living in, had a single bed on the ground surrounded by some shelves of canned food and a couple knives, a p38 can opener (military can opener) and some books. In the corner, taking up most of the room would be a computer with several towers interlinked, servers, and numerous monitors all showing various parts of the city within view of the building itself.

This paid plenty to the fact she was a hacker and she knew exactly what to do to get what she needed to survive this area.

Temperance went to the bed and settles down atop it, “Home sweet home.” grabbing the p38 and a can of mandarin oranges, “You want a candy bar or something?” she offers.