Juniper had seen a lot in her time. Cowboys, bank robberies, crazy strong powers, intense trips through the woods where the trees waved back at you...

But she had never seen a naked man curled up in a fire in the middle of a packed New York bar. She could strike that one off of her bucket list now.

She'd come in to have a drink or two, scope out any potential partners for the night, and to get out of her apartment for a bit. Her cat was driving her up a wall with constant meowing for more snacks. Her fake ID was more than passable, so she'd gotten in pretty quick considering the line. It helped that she was hot upon first glance, even if she didn't bother with makeup any/more.

She'd already walked in a circle around the bar once, gotten hit on and hit on a few people herself, and now she was here... in front of a fireplace staring at a very pretty butt while sipping on her Scotch on the rocks. 

Again, just to reiterate, why was there a pleasant on the eyes naked man sleeping in a fire place? Not that she was complaining, just... Why, New York, why?

"He's been there like an hour." A voice popped up to her left. Her eyes lazily slid to a semi attractive woman who had popped up out of nowhere. "Everybody's afraid to wake him up."

"Why?" That sounded dumb. Wasn't a person in a fire place usually a reason to panic? 

"I don't know, that's just what I've heard. Pretty nice looking isn't he?"

Juniper sipped from her drink again, smacking her lips a little. She was gonna have to bounce from here soon. Nothing had really caught her attention yet.

"Meh. I like my steak rare. He's been in there too long." Her cup was empty. She needed to fix that. 

Handing the cup with a ball of ice in it off to a bewildered woman, she turned to head back to the bar.

Winter was awful. Blue didn't feel the cold like normal people, but rather, he felt the lack of warm things to recharge on. He missed the sun, and the heat, and he hated the way he felt tired all the time with this ridiculous snowy season.

The best way to recharge was with fire, and Blue could have just lit his own. But then he would not have been able to actually sleep and relax once he had a good blaze going. More than once, some fireman or good Samaritan would come along and put it out. He wanted to sleep, so he found the next best thing: a fireplace.

Getting in hadn't taken much effort. He stepped inside like he would step into a tub, and the flames quickly ate his clothes away, the burst of energy making him feel happy again. A few people had yelled at first, but when they realized he wasn't bursting into flame, they seemed annoyed, if anything. One bartender had started to tell him to leave, but the murderous gaze warded her off. Just like that, he made himself comfortable on a few bits of burning log, and settled in for his nap.

If only it lasted longer.

He could feel the eyes before he even heard the voices, and his jaw flexed irritably. As the bartender moved away, he snarled over his shoulder at them, feeling catty today. "Ain't ye ever seen a guy take a nap before? Mind yer own business before I bring the fire a little closer to you." He huffed. By rolling over, he managed to flash anyone who was looking, his smoldering expression rimmed by blue and yellow flames.

He liiiived.

Juniper jerked to a stop at the voice-- that accent--and turned to peer over her shoulder at fireplace man. Fire man? Cinderella. He was Cinderella now.

"Sure. It's kinda cold out here anyway."

The other woman was cowering away, tripping over herself to flee from Cinderella as fast as possible. That was silly. What was he gonna do, burn the bar down?

She heard one of the staff complain quietly, and it carried through the rest of the bar on a whisper.

"What are you anyway, some kind of spicy new duraflame log?"

Whew, he was packing though. Was it hot in here?

Blue sighed, an almost bored look on his face as he faced the woman with the mouth. Like a lazy animal he rolled over and sat up so his legs were draping outside the fireplace. Where his skin left the grate, blue flames rolled across his body. His head pulled free so only his backside was still seated in the fire. His gazed looked much darker tinted in cobalt.

"I don't think you want to test me, luv. I hear liquor is quite flammable, and these other patrons would be awful upset if I burned the bar down to show you a lesson." He was being honest. Several people were already edging away from the blonde who was provoking the flaming man. He lifted a hand, letting a little ball of blue flame gather, considering it. "Now, do you fancy being the one to end tonight's fun, or will you leave a guy to his fireplace and keep yer trap shut?"

He was a little cranky having been pulled from his nest. Little brat. She would have been cute if he wasn't feeling so annoyed.

Holyshithethreatenedtoburnthebardown

She blinked, but managed to keep the surprise off her face. She met his bored expression with one of her own and shrugged her shoulders lazily. "I dunno, but they probably have insurance for it, so..."

The bartender shouted something, which Juniper ignored. Blue fire man had climbed out a little, and now she didn't think her nickname for him worked anymore. Cinderella was out, she needed something new.

Zippo! Yeah. He was a little spicy zippo lighter. The blue flames were pretty cool, honestly. Wasn't blue an indicator of a hotter temperature or was that a myth? She shrugged mentally.

"I'm having a blast now, actually. Most fun i've had all night." She paused, eyeing him a little before grinning. "Wish i'd brought some marshmallows."

He was probably bluffing anyway.

...right?

This girl was either brave, or very stupid. He was starting to think it was the second one. She was testing him to catch the bar on fire, and if he did, she would be the only one to blame. He was tempted, honestly. He would have more flames, he would be more comfortable, and he would recharge faster. But he was also feeling incredibly lazy. He should just do this the easy way.

He let one finger focus the flames, leaned closer, and flicked a little fireball at her empty glass.

"Guess we have to start small and work our way up then. I'll burn you first, and then take the rest of the bar with us. I needed a bigger fire anyway."

Ooh, look. He was good with his fingers. How quaint. She watched the little fireball grown, frowning a bit at it a bit. It came arching toward her glass, and hand, and she seemed unconcerned. It passed harmlessly through both and landed on the floor next to her shoe. "Can we not?" She sighed, already exasperated.

She leaned down and upturned her glass on it, melting ice ball and cup putting the little growing flame out instantly.

"I don't want to play fire woman tonight if it involves actually putting out building fires. That's boring."

People were running from the bar and she hardly noticed. "Usually you start small with @#$%ing wax or something, not arson."

She pointed up at the sprinkler system rigged to the ceiling. "I also don't want to walk out of here looking like I jumped in a pool, Thank you very much."

Blue watched as the fire went through her, landing harmlessly on the ground. This was getting more interesting the longer he watched. He had never encountered a phasing mutant before. He found it almost like a challenge. Getting to his feet, he stood, noting how much shorter than him she was. He almost had to lean over to look her in the eye. "You started this little challenge. Aren't you going to see it through? If you didn't want to put out fires..." He leaned over, and touched a nearby glass. The liquid inside lit up and made a miniature candle for a moment as it burned. "You shouldn't have challenged me."

He was in full flame glory now. Flames from toes to shoulders, across his face, to his fingertips. It wouldn't take much for him to really cause damage in here. "Oh, and you may mind the water, but fun fact, it doesn't bother me at all. So, shall I turn on some sprinklers for you? Or we could play a game? Ever heard of, the floor is lava?" He let the heat from his feat leave scorch marks behind him. He touched another glass, a napkin, letting little flames make their way around the facility.

Oh. God. Effing. Dammnit. Why was everyone in this damn city 15 feet tall?! He easily dwarfed her, and he was still stark naked and pretty flames were dancing all over his body and...

@#$%.

Now she was interested, wasn't she?

"Hey now, don't take it out on the alcohol! What did booze ever do to you?" She still looked pretty bored. She was going to win that war, at the very least. "Challenges are usually pretty fun, but pissing matches aren't usually my forte. Too much effort."

Oh, okay. He was really going to burn the place down. Well.

Um.

Okay. So that was happening. She watched as he moved around, again, still naked as a newborn babe, and lit things on fire with his hands and his feet. She started looking for an umbrella with her eyeballs. "Aren't there any other challenges we can do instead? I'm really good at twister." She paused, phasing her feet so she could hop from one flaming foot step to another. "Naked twister is fun too."

Almost everyone had left at that point. No one appreciated their game. She hardly appreciated their game, but at least she wasn't bored anymore.

Her tone was changing, and as it did, he felt less irritated. He paused, hand above a cup, and glanced around. The place was virtually empty now. Well, she was useful for one thing at least.

”Hmm, can’t say I’m a fan of twister. Although with your size I’m fairly certain you’d loose,”[/b] he laughed as he walked calmly to the bar. His flames had cooled and he was just a blue light show now. Hoping over, he dug for a glass and poured himself an IPA off the tap. It felt like a good way to start. After a lazy sip he leaned against the counter, raising an eyebrow at her.

”you managed to clear out the bar at least. Looks like I c’n have a drink in peace for the moment.” He sighed and considered his appearance. He should probably find clothing again soon. ”So do you always go around pickin’ fights with strange men, half-pint, or am I just lucky today?” he mocked.

"You can say that, but you'd be wrong." She grinned at him and winked, stealing an abandoned seat and spinning in a circle. "It's not the size that counts, it's how you use it~"

He fixed himself a drink and she thought that was a great idea. She reached on in through the counter like it was normal and fished around under neath until she snagged something that felt like a bottle. Pulling it out, she discovered it was vodka. Bleh! Her face screwed up for a moment and she tossed it over a shoulder before diving back in for something else.

She was much happier when she caught a small, half full bottle of tequila. "Excuse you, I am at the very least a full glass of wine." The cap popped off the bottle with her thumb and she threw back a gulp.

"I don't often pick fights with people, but what can I say... you are too hot not to bother."

She was, something. If it was odd to see a naked man on fire in a bar, it was just as odd to see a short girl completely unbothered by it. She acted like the threat to burn her alive had been a game and now was spinning in a chair. Hmm, she may be worth keeping alive for the moment. She was entertaining, at least. She fished through the bar for liquor, and Blue watched her failed attempts. The tequila would be useful later. He would finish downing the beer in the meantime.

”I dunno how much wine you drink, darlin’, but you are a few chugs short of bein’ a full anythin’.”[/b] he refilled his cup and paused as she complimented him. A faint smile quirked the edge of his mouth.

”I have learned to stay in shape. You burn the clothes enough you gotta be confident in your looks. I set things on fire when people piss me off, and what can I say? A lotta people kiss me off.

He fished another bottle of tequila free and rolled it over toward her. Peace offering. A second glass of beer was promising to keep the bar intact for now.

Would be explode if she threw a bottle at him? Hm, best not to find out. She'd have to live with the shot jokes for now. "I'll let that one slide because i'm lazy."

A few drinks in and her little bottle was already mostly empty. They never lasted long. "Got a hot temper then? Guess it goes with the aesthetic." My oh my, he gave her alcohol! Juniper was a free elf now. Now the fun got to start!

"My hero~!" She clutched it to her chest dramatically. "You know how to give the best gifts."

She paused, glancing back as the bar became slowly more and more engulfed in flames.

"To me. I don't think the rest of them appreciated the other gifts."

Was she an accomplice to arson now? She didn't think so, since she hadn't actually set anything on fire. She'd even put that little one out! Anyone who said anything different was a fat faced liar.

"So what now? Steal all the booze, burn it all down, and walk out of the ashes like Jesus?"

She was lazy, he was lazy. It was like a perfect match. Someone too lazy to pester him, and he was too bored to each her a lesson about it.

He watched her clutch the bottle of booze, noting she did not object to the theft. Or the arson. Heck, she was an accessory to crime and quite frankly didn't seem bothered. If all women were like this he would have hung out around them more. He watched the fire traveling, realizing they would eventually have a situation on hand. Firefighters would arrive, maybe police, maybe not. With consideration, he found a discarded bag and loaded a giant pile of mini-bottles into it. He tossed in some of the bigger bottles just to be prepared. And a bottle of hazelnut flavoring because damn if some of those harder drinks didn't taste bad.

"Well my dear, I have this here bag of flammable liquid. If your grubby little fingers try to steal it for yourself with your wonderful ghostyly abilities, I turn it all into an instant inferno. Or, we leave together. You help me find somewhere I can get a pair of pants and I'll share the booze. Since half of this really is your fault." He waved at the bar that was now at risk of an insurance claim. Huh, flames liked to travel. At least it didn't hit anything too volatile yet.

He was bribing her. With alcohol. It was working.

"It's funny you thought we weren't leaving together, since that was my plan all along. I'll not argue with free alcohol thou-" Something exploded violently behind her and sent a chair sailing across the bar. Turns out the fireplace had been a gas one!

"We should go. Meet you out back!" She hopped from her seat onto the bar, and then jumped forward toward the decorated wall behind the bar and straight through it. Apparently fire couldn't hurt him, nor water, so she was sure he would be fine. She sure as heck wasn't going out the front where everyone would be gathered.

She escaped just as the fire alarms kicked on and water started spraying from the ceiling.

Out in the back, she was fiddling with a suddenly empty bottle she had been gifted, flipping it around in the air and catching it. She had a general idea of where to get him pants, if he insisted, and wondered where the rest of the night would end up taking her.

More arson? Xavier would be mad. Wasn't he out on a night patrol or something? Man, that would be awkward.

She spotted Zippo, was distracted by his glorious pecks and shiny fire, and dropped her bottle. It shattered everywhere.

"Whoops."