Bloody Fashion

"She's very shy," the woman said thoughtfully as she gazed at the two men seated in front of her. Both were in all black attire and the one with the flaming red hair had on a pair of dark sunglasses. The other, a young man no older than twenty, ran a hand through his messy black hair as he tried to see around the woman. He wanted to get a good look at the girl he was buying... or rather adopting. Though in his mind, he wasn't at the West County Orphanage to provide an abandoned child with a new home. Well, not entirely at least.

"Oh, it's really not a problem, Mrs. Cross," the redhead said noticing that his friend was much too occupied at catching a glimpse of the young girl to answer. At the moment, being inconspicuous was key. And, his pale, black haired companion was failing miserably."Right, Ryan," he said elbowing his friend in the ribs. Ryan turned and narrowed his eyes, upset to have been interrupted.

"Yes, Kyle," Ryan affirmed before turning back to the keeper of the orphanage. "Mrs. Cross, I assure you that we'll make sure she's very comfortable," Ryan said earnestly.

Mrs. Cross looked suspiciously back and forth between the two men. She couldn't help but wonder exactly why two nearly grown men wanted to adopt a teenager. And, together no less. The thought that they were a gay couple, who wanted a child, had briefly flickered through her mind. Yet, nothing about the two men's actions toward each other screamed homosexual.

Still, she remembered the bad position the orphanage was in. It was in desperate need of reconstruction. She was low on funds too and barely had enough money to keep all the children fed. Furthermore, it was starting to get overcrowded. It seemed as if every day another child would be left on her doorstep. And, she just couldn't turn away an innocent life. Maybe, it was okay to give the two men the girl. Sacrifice one for all the others. Besides, they seemed nice enough. And, they were willing to pay a heavy sum too.

"Well," Mrs. Cross said hesitantly, adjusting her glasses. "You guys seem very well off and capable of creating a nice home for her."

Kyle grinned, surprised that it had worked so easily. But then again, he supposed that people... unlike him and Ryan weren't as intelligent. They couldn't even see past the men's poorly played out facade of two people wanting to help a child in need. Ryan too was shocked at how quickly Mrs. Cross conceded. But, he was also grateful. He just wanted to get the girl and leave. He had a lot to do in terms of... teaching her when they got home.

"I'm sure we'd be very good for her, and that she's a lovely child," Kyle said, noticing the reason for his friend's anxiousness. And, when Ryan got anxious, he got... difficult and rather destructive.

Mrs. Cross tilted her head to the side, her expression one of inquiry. "But, you haven't even met her yet. You've only briefly seen her," she pointed out.

"Then by all means, bring her out!" Ryan said impatiently. He had business to attend to, stuff to do. Most of all, he was thirsty. Thirsty for something that good old water could not quench. Mrs. Cross eyed him warily, not appreciating his outburst. Yet, she turned around to whoever was sitting behind here.

"Come on over, dear. Meet your possible new family."

Kyle and Ryan could barely sit still from anticipation as the young girl slowly walked around the large chair blocking her from view. Her head was angled down to the floor and she fiddled nervously with the hem of her old pale blue night gown that contrasted against her dark brown skin. Her long, slightly curly black hair fell over her shoulders and into her face.

Kyle studied her carefully. She was very skinny. The only small excuse of body fat on her resided on her cheeks, which actually gave her the appearance of a young child. To Kyle, she looked as if her limbs could snap like a tooth pick. Kyle cringed at the thought. Especially with men like him and Ryan, that realization was very possible. He knew that one wrong move with too much force could easily break her in half. Kyle glanced nervously at Ryan. He was having second thoughts about the whole ordeal. Regardless of what he was, he still had something that faintly resembled a conscience.

Ryan had other thoughts in his head. Sure, he thought she was pretty from what little glimpse of her face he got. She might even be beautiful after she was properly cleaned up. Still, her fragility was obvious. She didn't look like some one you could be rough with. And, that might not do for some of the things Ryan had in mind.

"How old is she?" Ryan asked. There was a reason why he'd chosen to get a child rather than some middle aged woman, but the preferable age limit could only go so low.

"Thirteen," Mrs. Cross said. "She'll be fourteen in a couple of weeks."

That's so young, Kyle thought. He was definitely doubting himself now. There was only so much a thirteen year old could do. Even if Ryan didn't see it, Kyle definitely did.

Ryan had already made up his mind though. Yes, thirteen was a young age. But, why not start out young. To Ryan, she was so innocent. And, the innocent were always the easiest to teach for they knew nothing else.

"I can wait till she's ready," Ryan mumbled to his companion. He had other things for her to do anyway, so it wasn't as if he were only getting her to meet his own personal needs.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Cross asked, not hearing them.

Ryan cleared his throat professionally. "I said, we'd love to have her."

"Very well then," Mrs. Cross said standing up. "I shall go get the paper work." She was about to take the hand of the girl and bring her along, but Ryan stopped her.

"You can leave her with us. We do, after all, have to get acquainted with her," Ryan said smartly.

"Yes, of course." And with that, Mrs. Cross left.

It was now the three of them in the room. Ryan noticed how uncomfortable the girl was. Every once in a while her eyes would glance up, and dart quickly between Ryan and Kyle before looking back at the floor. She was visibly shaking too, and her top teeth gnawed at her bottom lip out of nervous habit.

Ryan made the first move. He stood up and made his way over to the girl, kneeling down to bring himself eye level with her. His thumb and index finger grabbed her chin gently, and she flinched at how cold his touch was. Ryan only shrugged it off since that was the reaction he'd expected. He lifted her face up from the floor so he could meet her eyes. Ryan smiled at how her dark brown eyes made sure to look everywhere but meet his own.

"What's your name, love?" Ryan asked running his thumb slowly back and forth over her bottom lip as he waited for an answer.

She was hesitant at first. Mainly due to being speechless at how sweet the man in front of her was being, and how interested he was in her. She'd seen lots of children come and go at the orphanage, and she'd given up hope that she'd ever find a person who wanted to adopt her. Furthermore, someone like the person in front of her. He didn't even seem that much older than her. And, he was unmistakably attractive, but she pushed that out of her head. She couldn't think that about her soon to be new... father.

"Gretel," she said reluctantly. She hated how her name sounded aloud, and how it looked on paper.
Ryan had to stop himself from grimacing. What a horrid name for such a pretty child! He thought. He was glad though that Kyle was thinking the same thing, and that the girl wasn't fond of it either. At least, there wouldn't be any controversy when he changed it.

"And, how exactly did you get this name?" Kyle asked finally getting over his unsureness of the whole situation of adopting her. He stood to the side of Ryan, and she had to look up in order to address him.

"W-well, since I was left on the doorstep of the orphanage without a name, Mrs. Cross said that one of the other children could name me. She likes to do that a lot. So, one of the girls named me after a character in a book," the girl said quietly. It was obvious how ashamed she was of her name.

"It's a lovely name," Ryan lied. "But, how would you like it if we changed it?"

"Yes, please!" The girl said the faintest hint of an eager smile lighting up her features. Ryan and Kyle both agreed that she was much prettier when she didn't have on a blank, confused stare.

"Hm," Kyle mused. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about naming a child. So he'd figured that he'd just improvise until he had an idea. "What month were you born?"

"May. I-I think. That's what they've told me," she answered unsurely.

"I've got it," Ryan said snapping his fingers after careful thought. "What about Maybel, it's a beautiful name."

"Oh, I love it!" The girl breathed shyly. A smile, larger than the first one, tugged at the corner of her lips.

"It's settled then, Maybel it is," Kyle affirmed as Mrs. Cross, re-entered the room with a small stack of papers. Ryan stood up, taking Maybel's hand in his as he did. Maybel subconsciously moved in closer to him as Mrs. Cross pulled out a pen.

"So, here's the deal. One, or both of you, needs to fill out the papers and then Gretel is...-"

"Maybel," Kyle interuppted. "Her name is now Maybel."

Mrs. Cross eyed him over the tops of her glasses. Her eyes then flitted to where Maybel was standing close to Ryan. "Yes, well, just fill out the papers," she said tiredly.

While Kyle moved forward to assume the duty, Mrs. Cross turned to Maybel. "You'll be good now, won't you?" She asked in a caring voice that she reserved only for the children. Maybel nodded. "Of course you will, you're a darling girl. Ryan and Kyle will take excellent care of you." Mrs. Cross wasn't entirely positive of that last fact, but it needed to be said to give the young girl reassurance.

"Is that what I should call you?" Maybel asked glancing up at Ryan.

Ryan considered this. He couldn't very well tell her how he expected her to address them in front of Mrs. Cross. That would leave no doubt in the old keepers mind that the two men had an alternate reason for adopting her.

"Yes, that is fine for now," Ryan said squeezing her hand gently. Once they were out of the confines of the orphanage, Ryan would lay down the actual rules. This including the real names she was to address them by. He couldn't favor the girl, even if he wanted to. It would make the other... slaves jealous and therefore more prone to disobediance.

"Thank you," Mrs. Cross said taking the now filled adoption papers from Kyle. "Congratulations on adopting your new daughter," she said.

She watched as Ryan and Kyle left the room. Maybel's hand was securely in Ryan's while Kyle's hand rested on the small of her back, ushering her forward. Mrs. Cross still had that gut feeling that she shouldn't be giving the teenager away to the two men. But, she just ignored it, telling herself that Maybel was in good hands.