14394/Devil's Food Is Chocolate

Devil's Food Is Chocolate
Date of Scene:	12 March 2023
Location:	BPRD HQ
Synopsis:	Phoebe gives brownies to some BPRD peoples. Also: There's a hug in there, somewhere.
Cast of Characters:	Hellboy, Phoebe Beacon

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Hellboy has posed:
    Security at the BPRD was pretty normal. Phoebe's clearance was fairly solidly established, but even though she was quickly recognized by security, they still checked her with everything at the BPRD's disposal. Shapeshifters, illusionists, and clones all threw off the old-school attitude of visual recognition being enough.
    The hallways were about as empty as they ever were. The BPRD had plenty of agents shuffling around here, there, and everywhere, but they were a tiny subdivision of WAND which was a tiny subdivision of SHIELD. The agents and supporting staff were all usually busy. Except, perhaps, Abraham Sapien.
    As soon as Abe recognized the visitor, his voice could be heard. "Phoebe!" he says from his tank, almost with surprise. His unique abilities meant he probably wasn't THAT surprised, especially since Phoebe and Hellboy were buddy-buddy.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe was used to security. She lived in one of the most secure private residences in Gotham City, and she had given the OK for her Identity to be store as Balm. SHIELD knew her as a past leader of the Justice League Dark. And she was, indeed, friends with Hellboy. One of her favorite demons to go hunting with.

    "Afternoon, Abe." she gives a smile to the aquatic man, stepping in and giving a smile. "Good to see you, how's things?"

    She sets down two reusable shopping bags, stuffed full with baked goods and a couple of cans of cat treats. You can't treat the man and not his cats, that's just cruel. She's wearing a leather jacket over a sweatshirt and jeans with high boots; looks like she took her motorcycle again, in spite of the fact that it's crummy weather outside.

Hellboy has posed:
    "I'm well, thank you," the half-human says with a gentle, calm, almost imperceptible smile. He swims in a standing-analogue position and sinks down as Phoebe addresses him to get closer to eye contact. "Fudge, if I don't miss my guess," he says. Following the nonsequitur, he gestures at one of the bags. "The brownies." Of course he knew what she was bringing to Hellboy.
    "You know how much I enjoy your visits," the Atlantean continues. "It will have been nice to see you either way, but--" He hesitates. "--I don't suppose one of those might not make it as far as Red's room?" It's perhaps ironic for a fish-man to be angling.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "You're right on, Abe. I have fudge, blondies, walnut, sour-cream. One that's a blondie with dates and raisins called 'Food of the Gods'--" she trails off.

    She liked Abe. Abe was calmness, and she could feel the smile in his voice as she pulls out a tin-foil covered platter of brownies. "You like the fudge ones?" she asks, holding up the platter. "I'm sure Red's already been alerted that I here."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Certainly," Abe says, in reference to which statement of Phoebe's is less clear. "Whether Red is paying attention or not is another matter." He gestures. "There's a ladder over here," he says, swimming that direction. "I'll meet you up top. I don't want to keep you from Red for too long."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "No, I know he gets antsy sometimes. He's a good guy. Got the biggest darn heart, y'know?" Phoebe replies agreeably to Abe as she walks over to the ladder and one-handed climbs it, going up to the top of Abe's tank. "I was actually beginning to worry that... y'know, turning him down would end the friendship."

Hellboy has posed:
    Abe looks over at her. "Really?" he says. "You turned him down?" He meets her at the top, poking his face out of the water. He has a distinct smell. It's not exactly any one thing, fish or otherwise. "I thought he was trying to hide his feelings so he didn't make things weird."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "There was an incident. And he tipped his hand." Phoebe admits, and leaves it at that. She hops over the side, and sits on the walkway at the ladder, and she sets the gray of brownies on the side, unwrapping the foil from the top.

    "Red believes in the best of people. He is..." her brows knit slightly, "... one of the most up-beat people I've ever met. I wasn't kidding when I said he had a big heart. I'm glad, though, that he showed his feelings, and I'm glad we were able to talk through some of the stuff... admittedly in the bottom of a giant freaking hole made by a fire-spewing acid wurm."

Hellboy has posed:
    "Hmmm," Abe ponders, admittedly distracted by a mouthful of brownies. He eats surprisingly quickly, but he only takes one. "You could do worse," he says, but he drops down into the water. "I'll just have one," he says. "I don't have Red's metabolism."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm well aware. There's a politician that's not getting the 'not interested' memo I've been sending him." Phoebe gives a smile, and then hops up, and covers the tray back over. "I'll leave the platter up here, Abe, in case you feel peckish again, all right?" she states, and the goes to the ladder, holding to the sides and dropping down a few rungs at a time.

    "But... keep that between you, me, an' the water. I'd feel weird if Red felt like he had to step in."

Hellboy has posed:
    Abe considers for a second at most. "Red CAN get quite punchy about people he cares about," he points out. He waves. "Thank you for the brownies, Agent Balm," he concludes, keeping things coordial, but also professional.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'm not an agent, Abe, and you can call me Phoebe." Phoebe gives a smile, hefts the other two bags, and makes towards Red's Room, giving a soft hum of some song stuck in her head.

Hellboy has posed:
    Red's room is, surprise surprise, a mess. He's got clothes everywhere, cats lounging on everything, and the smell of his cigars fill the room. He's got a cigar between his teeth as he watches TV and curls a hefty barbell in his left arm. He grumbles to himself as the news comes through the CRT TV. Why is it so old? Maybe ambiance? Who knows.
    Red notices the door open, and recognizing Phoebe puts a smile on his face. "Kid!" he says. Moving to the TV, he drops the weight with a heavy clang onto the floor sending cats scurrying from the energetic thud. He pushes the power/volume knob in which turns off the set. Using both hands, he smooths over his hair as he turns around to face her. He stands with his hands at his sides, but quickly seems to realize he's got a cigar in his mouth! He quickly plucks it from his teeth and stuffs it into the ash tray. He puts on a big, cheesy, pseudo-innocent smile. "Hey," he tries, nonchalantly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a small smile, her nose wrinkling a little at the smell of cigars and cats as she makes her way into the room, bringing the two big reusable shopping bags full of baked goods with her as she gives a smile to the tall demon. "Hey, Red." she greets him with a friendly expression, and as she sets the bags down, she wiggles her fingers and gives a soft 'pspspsps' to one of the cats. "How're things? Fully recovered from the wurm?"

Hellboy has posed:
    Red looks confused at her. "Huh?" he asks. Though, he seems to remember. "Oh, that. Yeah, I heal good." He would pull up his sleeve if he was wearing a shirt. He holds out his arm and shows her around his Right Fist of Doom. "See? Didn't even leave a scar." He makes good eye contact as he says, "What about you? You doing okay?"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Doing all right. Dealing with a bit of tough stuff in playing socialite, worked on a class project for one of my medical ethics classes." Phoebe states, giving a small grin to Red.

    "I'd rather being doing field work most days to be honest."

Hellboy has posed:
    Red listens, but if Phoebe can read him half as well as one might a character in a movie or TV show, she would be able to tell almost all of that is going over his head.
    "That's great!" Hellboy tries, giving his sideburn a Confused Right Forefinger Scratch of Doom while acting like he got it all. "What'd you bring?" he continues, moving on to something hopefully he could grasp the finer details of.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe pauses a moment, and she rubs the back of her neck, and exhales "Yeah, great." she states without enthusiasm, and then shrugs a shoulder as she takes a seat on the floor. "Ah, Brownies. Stopped by and dropped Abe a plate, so the rest of these are for you." Phoebe states with a little smile, "There's some cat treats too. For everyone."

Hellboy has posed:
    Red lets out an enthusiastic, "Ooh!" as she mentions brownies. However, the first thing he does is get out the cat treats. He uses his hooves to slide a few, metal bowls along the floor to where they're supposed to be, then divies up the feline confections (or thereabout, as cats can't taste sweet). He then retrieves one of the brownie plates and pulls off the foil. He breathes in deeply. "Mmmm," he lets out, savoring the scent. He moves to his bed and hops onto it, tail swishing behind him as he begins to devour the gift. "Thanks," he just about manages with a mouth very full of chocolate baked goods.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Yeah, no problem, Red." Phoebe gives a soft smile, and then rubs the back of her head again. "Just figured I'd come by and drop off some snack foods. Did a lot of stress baking and most everyone else is outta the house." she gives a little smile.

    "So... how you been doin', Red?"

Hellboy has posed:
    Red swallows a brownie, another already in hand. He furrows his brow. "Hey, uh..." He focuses on Phoebe--really focuses on her. "I'm doing okay. Are you okay? Is this about what we talked about in the worm hole?" He puts the brownie back on the small pile and tries to reassure her. "I'm not pushing things. I'm cool with just friends," he adds.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I know you're not pushing things, and I also kinda wanna tell you that it's OK to be disasppointed that things didn't work out for you. Just... checking in, y'know? You're my friend. And one of my favorite hunting buddies." she cracks an easy smile.

Hellboy has posed:
    As Phoebe gets a little less uneasy looking, Red calms a bit, too. "I'm good," he tells her. "Hey, I'm not bitter." He shoves a whole brownie into his mouth and speaks with his mouth full. "It'f no' lipe we wew pwoo wuv," he says, cramming another brownie in there. He swallows, barely chewing at all. "You sure you're okay, kid?" he asks. "If you need to talk about anything, you're my friend, too," he reminds her.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe mouths that statement about pwoo wuv and seems to grok it, her eyebrows drawing up as she takes a breath.

    "Yeah, I'm all right, Red. I've got a guy that didn't take 'no' for an answer who keeps on trying to make my life attached to his. A normal guy, mind you. Well, normal as politicians come." she states as she picks up a brownie herself. "He even showed up at my brother's workplace looking for me. I'm sure he'll lose interest, but he's such a *jerk*. Also started to get sword lessons from an assassin. So that's going well. "

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy moves the plate closer to Phoebe when she reaches for a brownie. He's not trying to be a brownie hog, but if left to his own devices, they might be gone before Phoebe leaves. However, he's willing to share, especially with Phoebe. "You need arm candy?" he offers. "Nothing official, just someone to be seen with. Might scare him off to assume you're with someone." He shrugs. "I can also scare him, if you think that'd help."

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Nah. The minute I start being seen with members of the Supernatural it could get back that I have power, and I'm currently a 'Face' for the Wayne Family. I hate starting rumours." she replies, breaking off a piece of the brownie and taking a bite.

    "Thanks for the offer though, Red. Maybe I'll take you up on it if he doesn't quit it. I think my guardian's first option's going to be having the Butler deliver a message. An' after that... uh..." her brows knit. "Probably lawyers."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy laughs one loud, "Ha!" like the bit about lawyers is incredibly funny. "I forget about them," he admits. He stands and holds out his arm, not touching Phoebe, but giving her an air-hug with enough space she can tell he's not going to touch her. "Kid, you are way more grown up than me." He moves to the TV and changes the channel to cartoons. "Here," he says. "Grab another plate. Let's watch Bugs and forget about icky politicians and lawyers for a while." He flops up onto his bed and crosses his legs.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe gives a grin, and she stands up, and instead of an air-hug, she side-hugs on the not-Doom side.

    "Trust me. I would *much* rather just scare the bejeesus out of him. I don't think he could handle knowing the extent of the Weird I hang out with." she gives a grin, and she does indeed pick up another plate of brownies, and goes to sit on Hellboy's bed with him, assuming a lotus position.

    "Did I ever tell you that apparently Mel Blanc is some weird quasi-guardian angel?" she begins, "It all started when I hit my head real hard falling into a hole in an abandoned amusement park..."

Hellboy has posed:
    Hellboy laughs. "Okay, you gotta tell me that story," he says, listening to whatever she wants to divulge.