xp_logs | LOG: Manuel and Danielle

Manuel asks Danielle up to his room, so he can open up to her about his situation with Amanda. But just when things get comfortable, someone's brain slips a gear.

Manuel sent out a tendril of emotion, looking for one particular mind. Ah, there it was, engrossed in something pleasant by the feel of it. He made the
tendril an interrogative, a desire to come upstairs and see him. Once he was sure she got the message, he turned up his music and tried to lose himself in the soothing ebbs and flows of chamber music. Classical today, to steady his nerves and soothe him. Maybe it would work.

Shaking her head at his audacity, Dani finished her shower and found some clean clothing. Slipping into the shorts and tank top, she grabbed her comb
and found her flipflops. Manuel could comb out her hair if he wanted to see her so badly.

No bothering to knock on the door, she walked in, surprised to hear classical music instead of the usual electronic whatever he listened to.
Without greeting, she went to sit on his bed, back to the wall. He'd let her know what this was about when he was good and ready.

Manuel blinked and then grinned at her. "Close the door." he said with a wink. "People will talk. Then come here, sit down. Your hair is frightful."
he said, walking over to his bathroom to find a suitable brush to handle her tresses. Finding what he was looking for, he felt a hot stab of sadness - it
was the same brush he wanted to use to brush out Amanda's hair, if she'd ever let him. Fighting it down, he returned to his chair and waited for her.

Shrugging, she moved to close the door before going to sit on the floor so he'd have better access to her hair and handed him her comb if he needed it,
"Let them talk, ain't like they won't anyways. And of course my hair is a mess, I was in the shower."

Manuel grinned at that before he got himself under control. "Good thing I phrased it as a request and not a demand, then." he said with a chuckle. "I
was hoping I could get a few minutes to talk to you. In confidence. I've got a problem, and I'd like your thoughts on it." he said, beginning the process
of brushing out her hair.

This was a unique turn of events, "I can listen," she replied cautiously. While her grandfather had frequently been consulted for different problems,
she was still not quite used to it. Giving good counsel was a practiced art, not something anyone could do.

"I thought you might." he said. "But this _must_ stay between you and I. It's about Amanda." he said by way of an explanation. "I'm losing her.

"If you think I'd talk, you better not say anything else," Dani warned him, trying hard not to be offended by the thought, he did not know what he was
asking.

Manuel saw the spike of irritation, no matter how well she tried to conceal it. "No, I don't believe you will." he said with the ghost of a smile. "I
don't need to remind you what I can do when I get offended. Anyway, enough of that. I'm losing her. She's growing cold, distant, evasive. She won't
stand for a simple touch, let alone anything in bed. She says she needs time and space to puzzle through her problems on her own, but each day that
passes brings more distance between us. I want to fix it like normal people, not like you and I could."

How ironic that he was coming to her for relationship advice, "And you tried talking to her?"

"She won't permit it unless it is on her terms." he said sadly. "And yes, I have. She says she needs some space, some time to beat her addiction and to
figure out what it is that she truly desires. And she keeps herself buttoned up tight to keep me from Seeing it easily. She avoids me, I suspect, to keep
me from probing deeper."

"Well, addiction ain't easy, especially if she's going cold turkey. It ain't an unreasonable request if she's fighting it. I know she doesn't see Meggan
as much as Meg would like, either," fortunantly, Meggan had only had the one tantrum, even if she had eaten Dani's soap. "You're afraid she's going to
stop wanting you when she gets her head together."

Manuel nods. "I am almost positive that will be the outcome. She's so cold, Danielle. Cold and distant. As untouchable as the moon." he said with a
shiver. "I don't want it to end - not like this. She is everything to me." he admitted. "Sad, isn't it?"

"Ain't sad to risk everything on a person, it's human. And whether we like it or not, it don't always work out," that was the understatement of the
year, "I ain't gonna tell you what to do, Manuel. It's your choice, but you gotta decide if you want to wait for her decision or end it yourself...and
take that choice from her."

"I can't just end it with her. She's all that I really have - no, that's not really true anymore, is it?" he mused as he thought out loud. "I don't want
to hurt her. She needs me." he said, firmly in the River in Egypt mode. "She'll see it when she works through her current malaise. It's always been
her and me against the world."

Dani nodded, somewhat unsurprised. She'd had the same thoughts when she'd first come to the school, she'd even secretly kept them even after Sheldon had filed for divorce. Unlike the movies, there hadn't been a happy ending to those court proceedings. "And more importantly, you give her the choice. I don't think she'd forgive you if you took it away from her."

Manuel nodded. "Indeed. So in the meantime I will do what I've been doing - be there, be supportive, but give her the space she needs. Even if I am
horny enough to fuck a busload of cheerleaders." he leered, and then reconcentrated on brushing her hair. She had gorgeous hair, straight as an
arrow and soft. He loved her hair.

"As fun as I'm sure an orgy with cheerleaders would be...try to resist," Dani advised, trying to block that image from her mind. It had been too long
for her as well, both physically and since someone had brushed her hair. She missed both, perhaps the simple things more.

Manuel grinned as Danielle reacted to that image. But instead of saying anything, he just slowly, carefully brushed out her hair. He didn't say
anything for a while, all he did was brush her hair. "It's hard, you know? Having to just sit and watch, to keep my distance and give her the space
she's asked for." he murmured. "I miss her terribly."

What could she say to that? It'd get better? It wouldn't while he was in relationship limbo. That he's doing what's right? He knew that and just
knowing it was right did not make it easier.

Manuel finished up brushing her hair, and then had to fight down an urge to do something highly, highly inappropriate with Danielle here. She was barely
dressed, showing off nice legs and a nice amount of chest. But then, after Amanda just about anyone had nice amounts of chest. So instead he brushed her hair and spent a moment or two to fantasize.

Normally, Danielle couldn't read Manuel, although she periodically tried just to see if she was getting stronger. Instead of getting the blank wall
of nothing as she normally did she was assaulted by fear. Fear of loneliness and rejection radiated off of him, forming itself into scenes inside her
eyes.

Startled, she scurried away on the floor, trying to get away from them heedless of the brush in her hair. "Stop it Manuel!" she screamed, trying to
force the images away. "Stop it!"

Manuel threw himself backwards - clonking himself head-first into the wall. "Ohhhh." he said as he saw stars for a moment. And in that moment, all of
his mental discipline, all of his shields deserted him for a second.

As his shields fell all his emotions hit Danielle on top of the fear, rendering her immobile on the floor crying, unable to stop it. Curling into
a ball she felt everything he did unable to focus on anything else. It was as if she were being pricked with tiny needles as the visions continued to
flash so only she could see them.

Manuel got his act together enough to slam his shields back up as high as they could go. "Danielle." he said, reaching out a hand towards her as he
also extended out his power, to cut her off from the emotional bombardment she was apparently suffering.

As quickly as the fear had started, it stopped and Danielle tried to regain control of herself. Wiping her eyes, she stood up shakily, not accepting
Manuel's hand. "You asked me to come down, you pour your heart out and you attack me with your powers?" she asked, angry and afraid it would happen again while she tried to get her shields back up. "What the hell did I do to you, ve'ho'e?"

"I never touched you!" he protested. "I was buttoned up tight the whole time - I was wondering why it was you felt the need to spaz out on me like that!"

"You didn't touch me? Then why did I see you getting your heart stomped on by Amanda and some guy I guess was your father and....other people? Why did I see that?" Dani sniffed again, not wanting to remember the visions, "I can't read you unless you let me."

"It was NOT my intention to come up here, open my heart to you, and then -assault you- in such a clumsy fashion." he said with a growl. "I wanted
your advice. I wanted ... never mind what I wanted. You think I asked you up here so I could attack you? Fine. Get out." he said, pointing for the door.
"But know this - I didn't touch you. Whatever happened, it was you, not me."

That was a sobering thought. "I...fine. Sorry," Dani left, trying to figure out if she could make it to her own room or not.

Manuel almost said something, almost apologized, but then he remembered the pain in his head, and how her first instinct before any other was to blame him. Fine. To Hell with her, then. To Hell with all of them. He'd muddle through on his own somehow.