A Busy Centipede Part 3

It was a nice, lovely afternoon. Clothes were washed, dried and folded away in their cabinets. The golden brown carpet floor had not a single stain and the kitchen shone with a soft, reflective glow. Anon was proud in tidying up the house in a meticulous manner. When Scolo returned home Anon decided to give her a fresh brew of coffee. Personally Anon hadn't a clue why anyone would enjoy bitter, boiled bean water but at least to him it didn't smell as bad a second hand smoke.

Normally Scolo would regale Anon with horror stories, like one time where she had to teach coworker multiplication tables. But today she was merely content with wrapping herself in a blanket cocoon, watching whatever was on the screen.

"Whenever you're ready." said Anon, straining to not sound impatient as watched along with her. Anon wanted to start as soon as possible so they would have more time in their outing.

"Yeahh..." mumbled Scolo, who was perfectly content with staring blankly at an infomercial, much to Anon's chagrin. Anon wasn't exactly ready but he was done compared to Scolo, who had a completely disheveled look, her hair looked greasy and disheveled and her blouse was loose with a part of her white lace bra shown.

"May I at least have a seat?"

"Umm, yeah, sure" Scolo muttered as she laid a few segments of her tail to the floor with a thump.

As Anon sat down he brought a bag of chips with him, greeted by the familiar sound of stretched leather.

"If she's not going anywhere soon why stress myself waiting." Anon thought.

"Want any?" he asked while stretching his arm for emphasis.

"Nah." Scolo muttered before gulping another swig of coffee in such a way that her normally messy hair became even wilder.

What followed afterwards was silence, not one of them spoke as they lost themselves in their police procedurals, neither of them noticing that they scooted close enough to lean on each other. Hours passed before Anon believed it was appropriate to ask again.

"You ready now?" Anon said once more, trying his hardest to not be lulled into sleep.

"I will, just give me a few minutes." Scolo replied, dragging herself off the couch to her closet.

Anon buttoned his shirt while making sure his dress suit was without a single wrinkle and his shoes shined. His hair became gelled into a simple comb over to his right side. To complete the look a whiff of mild cologne on himself and his blue and silver tie.

Scolo straightened her hair as best she could, and decided to tie her hair into a pony tail to hide the stubborn follicles. With her style of dress she chose a heavily modified rouge cocktail dress, its coattails parted at a lower part of her body for decency's sake.
She chose to powder her cheeks in a light blush to compliment her dull, violet eyes.

"Should I polish that? Yeah why not?" she mused as she shined her carapace and tail blades to an immaculate shine to match her polished nails.

"I always thought this way of dress wasn't for me, but this magazine that Donna gave me said it's supposed to look dangerous, and that men like dangerous. So maybe Anon might like it" Scolo said to herself.

As both were ready Anon wanted to start off the evening just, right.

He opened the door after her, gave the best bow he could muster an "After you, Madam." and they were on their way.

Even though they took the same old subway car, on a holiday like this even something as pedestrian as public transport can look wonderful. Every single patron seemed like they were going to have a good time with smiling faces all around. The beams of light, surely of an ethereal manner stretched across the tunnels, giving the entire system a slow, dreamlike quality.

This manner of light was seen by the couple even more so as they stepped into the bustling downtown area. Even the dark, crumbling alleyways seemed so warm and inviting to the naked eye, even if acts of passion were likely to arise in those places, that wouldn't have spoiled the mood for the two.

"Are we going to that place Anon?" Scolo wondered as they held hands along the streets, filled with families and other couples chatting topics of all kinds.

"Depends, do you want to?"

"Of course Anon, as if you needed to ask that." Scolo said, puffing her chest.

"Then like a bee to a hidden flower we shall go." Anon stated, trying to act poetic.

They traveled through alleyways and passages, each step taking them away from the smiling crowds. The way seemed to be completely deserted, save for a stray group of cats that were a bit too close for the duo's comfort. A step here and a slide there and they were at their destination.

A large iron door, complete with an intimidating Oni and a tacky neon sign that read "Amber Satin" in curvy letters in an attempt to look fancy, slapped right above the door.

With a single look at their Id's the Oni relaxed her harsh stare, and gave a smile, saying "enjoy yourselves ladies and gentlemen", as the couple quickly stepped downstairs to find a free table.

What lain beyond those doors was an underground club, reminiscent of an age long gone. The bar had a dark, oaken look with a bartender at each end, serving complicated cocktails to equally complicated patrons, drinking themselves silly as they discussed not as complicated world views.  In the VIP room lain men and women of high power and class, talking business as tonight is just another for them. At center stage was an orchestra, a jazz orchestra to be exact. Each and every member was dressed to fit the part, each playing their hearts out in perfect unison like a well oiled machine. The crowds themselves were hidden in the dim lights, silently enjoying the sounds as they sipped their drinks at round, blue tables. The club itself had a reputation of sorts for a bit of everything, but one thing it was always known for was music.

The owner was a patron of the arts, and always had an eye for new talent. Often she invited many up comers to play in her club, and those same up comers tend to be met with boundless success. So for some this place was a debut of sorts as agents of all stripes kept a close eye for the next star.

Tonight the lucky songbird was a Lorelei, a curly haired blond draped in a deep blue dress, singing a slow jazz song. As her voice emanated across the stage, she entrancing all with her tune, to the point where even the most dismissive of guests turned their heads in appreciation of her performance.

Anon however was entranced by the look of his date. Scolo had this smile plastered all over her face, like a child when watching a toy commercial, lost to the sounds of music, unconsciously swaying her antennae to the tune of the song. Scolo always had a little complex about her smile, saying it looks goofy and stupid, but to Anon, it was a sight worth the whole world.

And for it to be interrupted was simply to Anon, quite distasteful, but how could he know what happened next?

"Well my, if it isn't my favorite employee and her little love." cooed a sultry voice.

"Mrs. Kinesly!?" said Scolo in a startled voice, almost jumping out of her chair.

"Ease up Ms. Tea, I'm not going to bite you for having a little bit of fun" chuckled her boss who kept eyeing Anon as her wings and tails swayed playfully. Mrs. Kinesly wore a Chinese style dress with white stocking to contrast her dark blue skin, displaying hefty amounts of cleavage from her ample bosom.

"So this is Anon, a little plain looking but he looks like the sort of guy who'd you like. Hmm, I approve. I approve whole-heartedly of your taste." Mrs. Kinesly assessed, holding her arms and chin like she's analyzing an art piece. "Though personally I prefer one with little more size. I simply can't resist a man who can hold me with big, strong, arms." She continued, holding herself for emphasis.

"Ma'am I'd would much rather like it if you didn't evaluate me like I'm some piece of meat." said Anon sternly, trying to maintain composure under this woman's cat like irises which pierced his soul.

"What do you mean 'approve'?" Scolo said indignantly while slowly keeping her tail closed around Anon's waist.

"As simple as that, I approve." Mrs. Kinesly happily replied, ignoring Anon's thinly veiled statement. "He seems to be the kind of man I'd think you like, always wanting to make someone feel special, always thinking of making someone happy, even when they should think have themselves more."

"O-oh Mrs. Kinesly, I've never thought of it like that. I simply like Anon for being Anon." Scolo tried to say confidently, even with her reflexively wrapping herself segment by segment, as if Anon would run away.

"Oh boo." Mrs. Kinesly cried semi mockingly, drooping her wings and tail for emphasis. "Oh well, there goes my skills of reading people. Please, don't allow somebody like me to ruin the mood. Enjoy yourselves." She said, giving a slight wave before picking up a poor soul for the night.

"Well, um, your boss sure is something." Anon joked.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she's just trying to be nice." Scolo tried to explain.

"It's fine, I get that a lot." Anon replied, venting with a loud sigh. "And while we're at it, you don't have to hold me so tight like that, I'm not going anywhere."

"O-oh, sorry." Scolo apologized before loosening her grip a bit, just a little.

"It's okay honey, say, after this lady finishes her tune, how about we head somewhere else?" Anon suggested.

"Umm, s-sure Anon!" Scolo replied, her antennae twitching with anticipation.

After hearing the round of applause be a bit louder for this rising upstart, the couple excused themselves, paid the bill and went upstairs. And then upstairs again to a nearby apartment with a steel staircase. The frame groaned with each step and squeaked swayed slightly with every movement.

"Anon, why are we going this way?!" cried Scolo, trying to stretch her body as much as possible to ease the strain on the stair frame.

"I swear honey it'll be well worth it!" said Anon as he stepped upward, tapping his foot to find weak spots.

Finally, they had reached the rooftop, an unusually clean place. The gravel shone like diamonds and in the center was an oversized mattress and frame, large enough to land a helicopter on it.

With tired breath Anon pulled himself onto the rooftop, then helped Scolo, even though for her climbing walls was quite easy for her.

When both were safely on top Anon extended his hand, and said "Would you like a seat miss?” trying his best to hide his exhaustion.

"Heh, yes I would good sir." jested Scolo, following Anon's act to the landing pad sized mattress. "How is there a bed on top of a building?"

"I called in a favor." Anon said. He remembered his coworkers are quite the helpers and would have to thank them after this junction. "Now the show begins in three, two, one."

Just like clockwork the fireworks show had begun. Ever since Mamano had intermingled with humanity one thing that both groups enjoyed was exchanging methods of celebration. And the one most often referenced was their firework displays. Scientifically crafted spirals, illuminating the night in geometrically perfect shapes mixed with the passionate variance of Fire Elementals and Thunderbirds created brief moments of motion. Some were quite bizarre, like flares that spun in triangles and squares before exploding into stars, or ones that had a large ring in other rings, flashing different colors before spinning out of existence.

"Wow...” Scolo muttered as she lay on the mattress, gazing longingly into the illuminating spectacle.

"Yeah, wow. It's funny, I never thought of the annual fireworks as anything special, but with you it's like floating on a cloud" Anon said a bit absentmindedly.

"Pftt, hahahaha!"

"Hey cut it out!" said Anon indignantly.

"Anon, you're so bad at things like that." Scolo teased, lightly knocking on Anon's head. "And that's coming from me, stupid head."

"Okay then how's this?" Anon said cruelly as he traced his fingers on the edges of her venom tattoos.

"Anon, stop stop, you know I'm ticklish there!" Scolo tried to say between laughing and writhing in an attempt to get away from her tickle torturer.

"Not until you say 'I give'." Anon said with a toothy grin.

"Stop it Anon, oh stop oh shoo-" Scolo said before she was about to fall on gravel.

"I got ya, you okay?" Anon said in a worried tone as he barely kept her head from hitting the pebbles.

"Yeah, I'm, okay" Scolo said, her antennae starting to wrap around her helper's arm as she helped herself up.

"I'm sorry, really" Anon said hurtfully. "If you want to, just do what you want, I'll be okay with it."

"Anything?" inquired Scolo, perking up as her appendages curled in anticipation.

"Anything you so desired so"

"I want this", Scolo said, pushing herself so she was under Anon's arm while holding him close. "I want to be held like this, and watch the fireworks with you, if you're okay with that Anon."

It took a shameful second for Anon to relax his surprised look. "I'm more than okay with that." Anon said, holding her tight, and feeling like the happiest man alive.