Amanda, Manuel - early Sunday morning
May. 22nd, 2005 05:14 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsThe morning after these emails, Amanda is having to make an early escape. Fluff with some substance.
It was a wrench, realising it was morning and she'd have to leave the comfort and warmth of Manuel's bed, but Amanda had never missed breakfast with Meggan yet. It was their time, the time she wouldn't give to anyone else, no matter how tempting they were. It was barely dawn, dim light filtering in through the window - she could have done with a couple hours more sleep, given she hadn't gotten much the night before. Slowly she started extricating herself from the bed, a task made harder since Manuel tended to cuddle in his sleep.
Manuel was dragged from his slumber by a gentle pressure on his night-time shielding, and a loss of a slender British wytch next to him. "Wha?" he said, trying to kick his brain into full wakefulness. "What time is it?"
Amanda glanced over at his alarm clock. "Five," she murmured, leaning over to press a kiss to his bare shoulder before beginning the Quest for Clothes. As usual hers had been scattered all over the room, although they were largely in one piece this time. "Go back t' sleep, love."
~Where are you going?~ he asked her in Spanish, too tired to remember to speak English around Amanda. ~Fuck, it's early. Come back to bed...~ he told her, patting the spot she had just vacated.
She'd learned enough Castillian from him to understand the first question, and the gesture was unmistakable. "Can't," she said, pulling her t-shirt on over her head and emerging even more tousled. Sometimes she wondered about letting her hair grow. Sure it looked good, but it was a bastard to look after. "Need t' get back - Meggan'll come lookin' for me otherwise, an' that could get awkward."
Manuel yawned enough to crack his jaws. "Come on, we barely get any cuddle time as it is." he complained, and then shook his head. "Aw, fuck it. I'm up now anyway. Might as well go get a shower, get something to eat."
"I know. I'm sorry - maybe thing's'll calm down soon an' I'll have more time." She doubted it, though, given she was starting driving lessons on Monday. She pulled on her jeans and came back to sit on the side of the bed, part of her rebelling at the demands she'd placed on herself. "Feelin' better?" she asked, running his hand over his shoulder, savouring the feel of warm, bare skin. "I dunno if the shieldin' helped at all..."
"Some, yeah." he said. "Your shield is crude, but it helps take some of the edge off. I'm going to have to go talk to Charles today." he said, sticking his tongue out in the classic 'yuk!' face. "I hate Earl Grey tea. I'm pretty sure he's not going to be happy with me, and he is not going to accept stress and being cranky as a valid reason."
"Well, if it gives you room t' breathe, that's enough, yeah?" Amanda's expression was sympathetic, although she believed Manuel had been out of line with the threats yesterday. "You need t' find somethin' else other than threats as a way of lettin' people know you aren't happy, love. You only get yerself in the shite otherwise."
"Yeah, like anyone besides you really gives a shit." he said with a sigh. "Besides, I hate whining. `Please, please, try to get along, OK? You're making me uncomfortable!' Yeah, that's going to go down well." he said with a snort.
"Doug agreed that all the fightin' wasn't helpin' things an' wasn't good for the psis in the house," Amanda pointed out. "He agreed with you, tho' not with the threats. You really don't see the middle ground, do you? It's either whine or threaten - what's wrong with just pointin' out there's a bunch of psis in the place who aren't dealin' with all the anger an' can they stop tearin' shreds off each other on the journals?"
"Oh, and that's going to make people really think twice." he said dismissively. "Because people care so much about how I feel."
"You'd be surprised," Amanda said with a sigh. "An' you're not the only empath now. Dani won't speak up for herself, but if you remind people it's not just you, there's Dani, an' the baby, an' even psis like Grey, in a reasonable way... well, they'll look like arseholes at the very least if they keep on goin', won't they?" Shaking her head, she patted him on the shoulder and began to get up. "I don't want t' drag this all out again, love. Want me t' put the coffee maker on for you?"
"Yeah, I think better with caffeine in me." he admitted. "And it's way too early in the morning to be arguing over the whys of why I do things."
"It's never a good time for that talk," she said with a snort, looking under the bed for her shoes. She'd had some at some point...
"Hey, you want to talk about it, come find me after you get done doing what you're doing. I'll make sure I'm available after dinner if you want to hash it out." he offered generously. "Best I can do."
"Think I'll leave it t' the X geezer - he can put it better than I can." Ah-hah! Shoes! She sat down on the bed again to pull them on - the slip-ons, luckily, since it was too early for laces. With a half-smothered yawn, she finished getting dressed and then leaned over to kiss him briefly. "'M goin' into New York with Meg, t' see how Ange is doin', but I'll be back later. I'll drop by an' remind you what I look like, yeah?" It was said teasingly, but there was an element of truth there - she was so busy with everything, her time with her friends was suffering. Marie-Ange only saw her because they shared a suite.
Manuel shrugged. He gave her her chance to say her piece, and she turned it down. "Yeah, don't be so much of a stranger, OK? I miss you." he said, in a moment of honesty.
She knew she'd missed a chance, but she just didn't have time. Or the energy to debate ethics with Manuel, which was always difficult, given she was still working out what hers were. "I'm tryin', love," she said, shoulders slumping a little. "I wish I could stay with you more, but..." But Meggan still hated him and they weren't about to play happy families any time soon. "Least you get more study time, yeah?" she said summoning a bright, fake smile.
Manuel wasn't buying that for a second, and it was a sign of her fatigue if she was trying anyway. "Sure." he said, giving her back an equally fake plastic smile. "I'll take whatever time I can get." For now, he thought, but was careful to keep that away from his face and their link. "I'll ... leave you alone for breakfast. Come see me when your day settles out, OK? We can watch some TV or something."
"Sounds good t' me," she replied, and this time the smile was genuine. The thought of just cuddling up with Manuel and watching a movie was frankly her idea of heaven right now. Too bad it wouldn't happen for a while. Maybe after finals. She leaned in again, and gave him another kiss, this one a bit more lingering than before. "Love you," she said softly.
Manuel deepened the kiss, to let her know that he was honest and sincere. He let his tongue play tag with hers for just a second before breaking it off. "Love you too." he said, and then swatted at her butt playfully. "Now I need a shower _badly_."
"You aren't the only one," she said with a rueful grin, getting up off the bed again. "Coffee should be done by the time you get out." Reluctantly she opened the door - she really didn't want to go. But there were things that needed doing. "Bye."
"See you later." he said, blowing her a kiss and sliding out of bed, perfectly nude, to make his way over to the bathroom, where his shower awaited.
It was a wrench, realising it was morning and she'd have to leave the comfort and warmth of Manuel's bed, but Amanda had never missed breakfast with Meggan yet. It was their time, the time she wouldn't give to anyone else, no matter how tempting they were. It was barely dawn, dim light filtering in through the window - she could have done with a couple hours more sleep, given she hadn't gotten much the night before. Slowly she started extricating herself from the bed, a task made harder since Manuel tended to cuddle in his sleep.
Manuel was dragged from his slumber by a gentle pressure on his night-time shielding, and a loss of a slender British wytch next to him. "Wha?" he said, trying to kick his brain into full wakefulness. "What time is it?"
Amanda glanced over at his alarm clock. "Five," she murmured, leaning over to press a kiss to his bare shoulder before beginning the Quest for Clothes. As usual hers had been scattered all over the room, although they were largely in one piece this time. "Go back t' sleep, love."
~Where are you going?~ he asked her in Spanish, too tired to remember to speak English around Amanda. ~Fuck, it's early. Come back to bed...~ he told her, patting the spot she had just vacated.
She'd learned enough Castillian from him to understand the first question, and the gesture was unmistakable. "Can't," she said, pulling her t-shirt on over her head and emerging even more tousled. Sometimes she wondered about letting her hair grow. Sure it looked good, but it was a bastard to look after. "Need t' get back - Meggan'll come lookin' for me otherwise, an' that could get awkward."
Manuel yawned enough to crack his jaws. "Come on, we barely get any cuddle time as it is." he complained, and then shook his head. "Aw, fuck it. I'm up now anyway. Might as well go get a shower, get something to eat."
"I know. I'm sorry - maybe thing's'll calm down soon an' I'll have more time." She doubted it, though, given she was starting driving lessons on Monday. She pulled on her jeans and came back to sit on the side of the bed, part of her rebelling at the demands she'd placed on herself. "Feelin' better?" she asked, running his hand over his shoulder, savouring the feel of warm, bare skin. "I dunno if the shieldin' helped at all..."
"Some, yeah." he said. "Your shield is crude, but it helps take some of the edge off. I'm going to have to go talk to Charles today." he said, sticking his tongue out in the classic 'yuk!' face. "I hate Earl Grey tea. I'm pretty sure he's not going to be happy with me, and he is not going to accept stress and being cranky as a valid reason."
"Well, if it gives you room t' breathe, that's enough, yeah?" Amanda's expression was sympathetic, although she believed Manuel had been out of line with the threats yesterday. "You need t' find somethin' else other than threats as a way of lettin' people know you aren't happy, love. You only get yerself in the shite otherwise."
"Yeah, like anyone besides you really gives a shit." he said with a sigh. "Besides, I hate whining. `Please, please, try to get along, OK? You're making me uncomfortable!' Yeah, that's going to go down well." he said with a snort.
"Doug agreed that all the fightin' wasn't helpin' things an' wasn't good for the psis in the house," Amanda pointed out. "He agreed with you, tho' not with the threats. You really don't see the middle ground, do you? It's either whine or threaten - what's wrong with just pointin' out there's a bunch of psis in the place who aren't dealin' with all the anger an' can they stop tearin' shreds off each other on the journals?"
"Oh, and that's going to make people really think twice." he said dismissively. "Because people care so much about how I feel."
"You'd be surprised," Amanda said with a sigh. "An' you're not the only empath now. Dani won't speak up for herself, but if you remind people it's not just you, there's Dani, an' the baby, an' even psis like Grey, in a reasonable way... well, they'll look like arseholes at the very least if they keep on goin', won't they?" Shaking her head, she patted him on the shoulder and began to get up. "I don't want t' drag this all out again, love. Want me t' put the coffee maker on for you?"
"Yeah, I think better with caffeine in me." he admitted. "And it's way too early in the morning to be arguing over the whys of why I do things."
"It's never a good time for that talk," she said with a snort, looking under the bed for her shoes. She'd had some at some point...
"Hey, you want to talk about it, come find me after you get done doing what you're doing. I'll make sure I'm available after dinner if you want to hash it out." he offered generously. "Best I can do."
"Think I'll leave it t' the X geezer - he can put it better than I can." Ah-hah! Shoes! She sat down on the bed again to pull them on - the slip-ons, luckily, since it was too early for laces. With a half-smothered yawn, she finished getting dressed and then leaned over to kiss him briefly. "'M goin' into New York with Meg, t' see how Ange is doin', but I'll be back later. I'll drop by an' remind you what I look like, yeah?" It was said teasingly, but there was an element of truth there - she was so busy with everything, her time with her friends was suffering. Marie-Ange only saw her because they shared a suite.
Manuel shrugged. He gave her her chance to say her piece, and she turned it down. "Yeah, don't be so much of a stranger, OK? I miss you." he said, in a moment of honesty.
She knew she'd missed a chance, but she just didn't have time. Or the energy to debate ethics with Manuel, which was always difficult, given she was still working out what hers were. "I'm tryin', love," she said, shoulders slumping a little. "I wish I could stay with you more, but..." But Meggan still hated him and they weren't about to play happy families any time soon. "Least you get more study time, yeah?" she said summoning a bright, fake smile.
Manuel wasn't buying that for a second, and it was a sign of her fatigue if she was trying anyway. "Sure." he said, giving her back an equally fake plastic smile. "I'll take whatever time I can get." For now, he thought, but was careful to keep that away from his face and their link. "I'll ... leave you alone for breakfast. Come see me when your day settles out, OK? We can watch some TV or something."
"Sounds good t' me," she replied, and this time the smile was genuine. The thought of just cuddling up with Manuel and watching a movie was frankly her idea of heaven right now. Too bad it wouldn't happen for a while. Maybe after finals. She leaned in again, and gave him another kiss, this one a bit more lingering than before. "Love you," she said softly.
Manuel deepened the kiss, to let her know that he was honest and sincere. He let his tongue play tag with hers for just a second before breaking it off. "Love you too." he said, and then swatted at her butt playfully. "Now I need a shower _badly_."
"You aren't the only one," she said with a rueful grin, getting up off the bed again. "Coffee should be done by the time you get out." Reluctantly she opened the door - she really didn't want to go. But there were things that needed doing. "Bye."
"See you later." he said, blowing her a kiss and sliding out of bed, perfectly nude, to make his way over to the bathroom, where his shower awaited.
