An Homage To Fight Club

tw: blood and fights

A tall street lamp shines its light across a sea of tarmac in the dead of night. The last store finally locks its doors, the last employees going home for the night. All is quiet, for only a moment, before another light shines across the empty parking lot, followed by the crack of thunder soon after. A storm is coming, though it has not arrived yet the lightning is bright in the distance. A figure steps out of the shadows, into the light above them, the dull old street lamp and moonlight mixing into a spotlight for the asphalt stage. Another figure joins them, both look like shadows come to life from a distance. Their show is performed without witness for only the two figures in the spotlight to see.
It begins with a fist.
Which collides with a face.
Lightning strikes again, and thunder comes after.
The person who'd been punched throws their own fist back. They dance like this for a while, throwing punches, swinging kicks, and flesh scraps on rough pavement, and their noses bleed from the hits. A show so beautifully chaotic and raw, never to be seen by anyone but them. The blood on the ground becoming a sick artwork on the perfectly straight lines below them. They swing and dodge and miss and hit and the storm grows above them, and in them, and on them.
A raindrop falls to the ground and mixes with the mess already there. The fight is ending now, both opponents slowing down. One last blow comes and the person it meets spits to finish the hideous masterpiece on the ground. For the first time since they stepped onto the parking lot, someone speaks.
"Holy shit, you just lose a tooth?" The first figure asks.
"Hell yeah! New souvenir!" The other replies happily, picking up the tooth they just spit out. The rain picks up, lightning and thunder coming at the same time. The storm is here, it's time to leave.
"C'mon let's get fixed up, sleepover at mine tonight?" The person asks, bruised and bloody.
"We should watch cartoons and eat a whole bucket of icecream!" The other answers, equally bruised and bloody, and missing a tooth. They smile anyway, revealing the gap where the tooth had once been. Both of them go to a house not far away, the short walk leaves them soaking wet since the rain became a downpour, and the night no longer quiet, is filled with thunder and rain. They go inside and the person missing a tooth shakes their head to dry it, shaking water and blood around the entryway.
"Oops, sorry Xander, forgot about the bleeding." They wobble, slightly lightheaded from the previous action, Xander catches them.
"I'll clean the wall later, I'm more worried about you Rex, are ya dizzy?" Xander asks with concern in his voice.
"A little, I'm not gonna pass out though, it's fadin." Rex reassures him, knowing it's happened before. Xander takes Rex's hand and gently leads him to the bathroom, a stark contrast from the harsh blows he was dealing out not long ago. He takes out a first aid kit from under the sink as Rex sits on the toilet and takes off his soaking shirt, the rain and blood combined with the fabric of it. Xander puts tissue over Rex's bloody nose and wets a cloth to start cleaning him up, carefully wiping away blood and dirt from all the times they'd fallen.
"Here, put some new tissues in your nose, I'm gonna go get an ice pack for that eye." Xander says, handing Rex more tissues.
"Plug up your nose too!" Rex reminds Xander of his own bleeding nose. He takes some tissues with him as he walks away to the cluttered kitchen, dishes still piled in the sink and cooking supplies strewn about the counter. He opens the freezer, full of microwave food, frozen drinks, and random junk that doesn't belong in the freezer. A barbie and a cracked pocket knife fall out onto the floor and clatter against the tile as he reaches back to pull out the ice pack. He goes back to Rex without bothering to pick up the mess he just made.
Xander put the ice pack on Rex's black eye and told him to hold it there as he got to work putting bandaids over the scrapes on his arms and legs, then started bandaging his knuckles.
"Your turn Xander, sit down." Rex said, standing once Xander had finished. He tried to protest but ended up sitting on the toilet seat, he took off his moist shirt and threw it in the tub. Rex rinsed the cloth and cleaned Xander's wounds, then put the ice pack over the bruises on his chest and stomach, Xander flinched at first but then leaned into the cold touch. Rex put bandaids over Xander's scrapes and the cut on his nose then started wrapping his hands in bandaging too.
"I could have done this myself." Xander said softly.
"So could I, but what's the fun in that?" Rex playfully replied as Xander got up.
"C'mon, let's get some dry clothes." Xander said walking to his room.
"Good idea." Rex agreed, following close behind. Xander gave Rex a pair of his pajama pants and a shirt and put on a similar outfit himself. Then they went to the couch and Rex picked some cartoons to watch together while Xander started some popcorn. It wasn't long before their eyes grew heavy and they started to lose more adrenaline, a few short episodes in and the pair fell asleep together on the soft couch with their hands still in a bowl of half-eaten popcorn. The two may seem like enemies at a distance but they were closer than anyone and they knew they were the exact opposite.