Amanda, Angelo - Monday evening
Sep. 11th, 2006 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAngelo meets up with Amanda at the Snow Valley offices to tell her his news. She takes it... philosophically. And perhaps with a tiny bit of poking fun.
End of the day, sort of, and she was still trying to scale the pile of work on her desk. "Bloody files, going off and having happy file sex and breeding like bleeding rabbits..." she muttered to herself, flipping through said files in an effort to find the study on teenage mutant homelessness in the States she knew had been here a few minutes ago. Since San Diego and the information Snow Valley had provided on the RedX effort, they'd been getting actual clients, one who didn't need them to blow things up. And given they were working on finding Jennie and Marius, that left her little time for the paperwork and not an explosive in sight.
Pity. Amanda could have done with a nice little explosion right now.
It was a sign of how preoccupied she was that Angelo had made it all the way to her desk unnoticed, and was now leaning against the wall nearby, looking thoroughly amused.
"You know, talkin' about your files like they're alive is probably somewhere in the signs of madness."
She jumped, squeaking a little and nearly upsetting one of her file stacks before realising who it was. "Hey, Ange," she said with an easy smile, before looking confused. "It's not that time yet, why're you..." she began, then glanced at her computer. "Oh shite, it is. I'm sorry, got a little caught up. Give me two minutes to tidy up and grab my stuff?"
"Course", he said with a grin in return. "An' you know you never get to say another word about me overworkin'"
She wrinkled her nose at him. "'S not my fault. It's the files, they get together and have orgies and make lots of other files." Then she paused in the middle of stacking said files into a neat pile for her 'Shite To Do' tray and snorted. "And I think maybe I need to get out more." She grinned at him. "Which is just as well you're here, then. And I can poke you about overwork, you just get to do the same to me. Fair's fair, after all."
"Yeah, I guess it is, at that", he said with a chuckle. "Decided where you wanna go yet?"
"I thought the asker did the deciding," she told him, poking her tongue out playfully at him. The worst piles dealt with, she logged off her computer and grabbed her jacket from where it was hanging on the back of the chair. She'd gone with the navy blue pants and a lighter blue blouse today, hair tied back in a neat ponytail. The eyebrow ring caught the overhead lights briefly. "There's the Irish theme pub near here, if you like - 's where Sarah and I go for drinks sometimes." She glanced at him, trying to see if his expression changed at all at the mention of the other girl's name - Sarah might not think it was anything but friendly fun, but she wasn't sure about him. Too bad he had a far better poker face than she did herself.
No visible change of expression, and nothing but amusement in his eyes. "Sure, sounds good. I don't think I've been to that one yet."
All right then. He didn't seem to be carrying a torch for Sarah... Unrequited love was a bastard. "All right then. Let's get out of here." Scooping up her backpack with its load of books and papers for work on later that night, Amanda led the way out of the office. Mark had gone - he must have been finishing up when Angelo arrived. "So, any special reason for coming down, or were you just pining away for me?" she joked as they waited for the elevator.
He shrugged, leaning casually against the wall again. "Just been a while since we went out just us. Not that it's not good goin' out with the whole group, but... 's been a while."
Thankfully the elevator arrived, since her ears were turning very pink. Once they'd entered and the doors closed behind the, she leaned back against the wall, hands behind her and her weight resting on them. "I'd ask if you've been busy, but yeah, I already know the answer to that. How's work? Getting anywhere with those political types you like to argue with so much?"
"Eh." He made a so-so gesture. "Some of them. We're on the way to gettin' accepted by the UN, officially, so that'll help a lot."
She smiled. "Official accreditation? That's brilliant - should make some things a lot easier, even if it does get up some noses. Since the UN aren't everyone's favourite people."
"Opens more doors than it closes, though, or we wouldn't've bothered goin' for it. So, yeah... all's goin' well with Elpis."
"Good to hear - you lot certainly do enough work on it." The elevator reached its destination with a cheerful ping and she led the way out, moving out of habit to the building entrance and then taking a left. "All this saving the world... certainly makes a lot of paper," she continued, making a face at the thought of the pile on her desk.
"Oh, you're tellin' me." His expression matched hers as he followed her towards the pub. "You should see the state of the boathouse most days."
"Did you guys ever end up getting another secretary?" Amanda asked as he fell into step beside her. "One who doesn't freak about flying babies?"
"Oh, sure, we got one. Not sure how long she's gonna last, though. Nathan doesn't like how she keeps rearrangin' things when he's not lookin'."
She rolled her eyes a little. "That's what she's supposed to do, isn't it? Keep on top of the paperwork mess? I think Nate's a bit fussy when it comes to secretaries - then again, he probably isn't used to having one, so having someone always around would be weird for him."
"He's gettin' better about it", Angelo offered defensively. "Even if he does keep talkin' about leather brigade stuff an' blowin' things up when she's in the room. God knows what she thinks."
"He's probably trying to test her out, see what she can handle, even subconsciously." Amanda caught the defensive tone and shrugged a little. Nathan and his quirks wasn't something Angelo was going to back down on. They reached the pub and she pulled the door open. "Here we are. Decent beer, and they have lots of shadowy corners for plotting in. Pete introduced us to this place back when we moved into the offices."
He looked around appreciatively, heading straight for one of said shadowy corners. "I'll have to remember this place. Looks good."
"Sarah and I come here for drinks pretty often - 's a good place to unwind." Amanda raised her eyebrows a little at Angelo's choice of one of the more secluded booths, but sat without a murmur. When the waitress appeared, she smiled and greeted her with a: "Hello, Amy. Usual for me, thanks."
"Pint of London Pride, sure thing, Amanda. And your friend?" Amy turned to Angelo, smiling brightly at him.
He smiled back, lounging in the booth. "Think I'll have the same, since Amanda recommends it. A pint."
Amy nodded, bestowing another smile on him and bustled off. Amanda shook her head slightly, smiling at him a little. "You do that every place we go, you know. 'S a gift."
Angelo returned his attention to her, blinking. "Do what?"
"Charm people," she replied, giving him an innocent look. "Pubs, restaurants, meetings... you've got this gift of making people like you, you know. Maybe it's a secondary power?"
He chuckled, leaning back in the booth casually. "Maybe it is. Maybe I should have Moira look into it." After a moment, he sobered slightly though the grin didn't entirely disappear. "Have to admit, 'though, this time wasn't a completely social meetin'. Got somethin' to talk to you about."
At that point Amy returned with their drinks, and Amanda waited until she'd gone before raising her eyebrow questioningly at him. "Thought there was something more to it. What's up?" Hopefully Nathan hadn't blown himself up again...
"Nothin' bad", he said hastily. "Just... been talkin' to some people - Nate, Bobby, Storm... about startin' my trainin'."
"Training?" Amanda paused in mid-sip, blinking at him. "Training for what? I thought you were going to college for the law stuff and the Elpis stuff you've pretty much got most of what you need?"
"Yeah, uh... it's not for that." He was still faintly bemused by how fast it had all turned around when he continued, "It's for the X-Men."
The look of surprise on Amanda's face was comical. "The leather brigade?" she practically squeaked. "But you always said... You never..." She floundered - she'd never thought Angelo would join the team, especially with his reaction to Nathan getting hurt so often. Hell, it had been one of the reasons he and Paige had broken up, their differing opinions of the team. "What happened? To change your mind?"
"...you know, I don't actually know." He offered a wry smile. "I was just talkin' to Nathan - before he got his powers back, he was in the gym doin' physical therapy - an' he said somethin' about my powers bein' worth more than I thought, an' I just... got to thinkin'."
"Of course they're worth more, you plonker," Amanda told him, still sounding a bit stunned. Seeking sense in her nice, reliable pint, she drank a couple of mouthfuls and started fishing in her pockets for her cigarettes - Finnigan's was one of the few New York pubs that still allowed smoking. "I just... 'S a bit of a shock, y'know? All this time you said you'd never join the team and now here you are, doing just that." Offering up a faint smile, she continued: "Then again, I never thought I'd be doing what I'm doing now either. As long as it's what you want, then I'm pleased for you. Just... be careful?" The look became a little pleading. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
"Things change, I guess", he said with a faint smile. "Two years ago, even a year ago, I never thought I would. An' it's... I'm figurin' it out. But it can't hurt to start the trainin' - nothin' says I can't stop, Storm even said so. But I've got every plan to be careful, don't worry."
"If there's anyone who knows to be careful, it'd be you," she agreed, reassured but still a bit worried - she still had no idea if she was capable of Healing any more, and she knew how dangerous the team was from Nathan's experiences and her time as a medlab helper. Angelo an X-Man... Nope, it was still difficult to picture. Finally finding her cigarettes, she lit up and offered the pack to him. "When do you start with the training? And are you going to have time, with all the stuff you've got on your plate already?"
"Soon as they've worked out a program for me", he told her, accepting a cigarette almost automatically. "An' it'll be tight, but Storm says trainin' should be pretty flexible. Fit around the stuff I've already got, if I want it to."
"Good. School and Elpis... those are important. Not saying the team isn't, but... well, you know what I mean." Handing over her lighter, she grinned at him suddenly. "You running around in a leather outfit saving the world. Do I get pictures?"
He paused in the middle of lighting the cigarette, shooting her a half-amused Look. "If any end up existin', I'm sure you'll find a way to get hold of them."
"Just like I'll find out what trainee code name they give you," she replied, not-so-innocently.
He eyed her. "If I know you an' Nate, you'll be influencin' the vote."
She shrugged. "Not like I have that much influence with team stuff. Just Marie and Kurt. But look at it this way - can't be any sillier than Tinky Winky. Unless they maybe call you El Ka-Boing or Rubber Man or something."
"...do I get any veto rights at all?"
End of the day, sort of, and she was still trying to scale the pile of work on her desk. "Bloody files, going off and having happy file sex and breeding like bleeding rabbits..." she muttered to herself, flipping through said files in an effort to find the study on teenage mutant homelessness in the States she knew had been here a few minutes ago. Since San Diego and the information Snow Valley had provided on the RedX effort, they'd been getting actual clients, one who didn't need them to blow things up. And given they were working on finding Jennie and Marius, that left her little time for the paperwork and not an explosive in sight.
Pity. Amanda could have done with a nice little explosion right now.
It was a sign of how preoccupied she was that Angelo had made it all the way to her desk unnoticed, and was now leaning against the wall nearby, looking thoroughly amused.
"You know, talkin' about your files like they're alive is probably somewhere in the signs of madness."
She jumped, squeaking a little and nearly upsetting one of her file stacks before realising who it was. "Hey, Ange," she said with an easy smile, before looking confused. "It's not that time yet, why're you..." she began, then glanced at her computer. "Oh shite, it is. I'm sorry, got a little caught up. Give me two minutes to tidy up and grab my stuff?"
"Course", he said with a grin in return. "An' you know you never get to say another word about me overworkin'"
She wrinkled her nose at him. "'S not my fault. It's the files, they get together and have orgies and make lots of other files." Then she paused in the middle of stacking said files into a neat pile for her 'Shite To Do' tray and snorted. "And I think maybe I need to get out more." She grinned at him. "Which is just as well you're here, then. And I can poke you about overwork, you just get to do the same to me. Fair's fair, after all."
"Yeah, I guess it is, at that", he said with a chuckle. "Decided where you wanna go yet?"
"I thought the asker did the deciding," she told him, poking her tongue out playfully at him. The worst piles dealt with, she logged off her computer and grabbed her jacket from where it was hanging on the back of the chair. She'd gone with the navy blue pants and a lighter blue blouse today, hair tied back in a neat ponytail. The eyebrow ring caught the overhead lights briefly. "There's the Irish theme pub near here, if you like - 's where Sarah and I go for drinks sometimes." She glanced at him, trying to see if his expression changed at all at the mention of the other girl's name - Sarah might not think it was anything but friendly fun, but she wasn't sure about him. Too bad he had a far better poker face than she did herself.
No visible change of expression, and nothing but amusement in his eyes. "Sure, sounds good. I don't think I've been to that one yet."
All right then. He didn't seem to be carrying a torch for Sarah... Unrequited love was a bastard. "All right then. Let's get out of here." Scooping up her backpack with its load of books and papers for work on later that night, Amanda led the way out of the office. Mark had gone - he must have been finishing up when Angelo arrived. "So, any special reason for coming down, or were you just pining away for me?" she joked as they waited for the elevator.
He shrugged, leaning casually against the wall again. "Just been a while since we went out just us. Not that it's not good goin' out with the whole group, but... 's been a while."
Thankfully the elevator arrived, since her ears were turning very pink. Once they'd entered and the doors closed behind the, she leaned back against the wall, hands behind her and her weight resting on them. "I'd ask if you've been busy, but yeah, I already know the answer to that. How's work? Getting anywhere with those political types you like to argue with so much?"
"Eh." He made a so-so gesture. "Some of them. We're on the way to gettin' accepted by the UN, officially, so that'll help a lot."
She smiled. "Official accreditation? That's brilliant - should make some things a lot easier, even if it does get up some noses. Since the UN aren't everyone's favourite people."
"Opens more doors than it closes, though, or we wouldn't've bothered goin' for it. So, yeah... all's goin' well with Elpis."
"Good to hear - you lot certainly do enough work on it." The elevator reached its destination with a cheerful ping and she led the way out, moving out of habit to the building entrance and then taking a left. "All this saving the world... certainly makes a lot of paper," she continued, making a face at the thought of the pile on her desk.
"Oh, you're tellin' me." His expression matched hers as he followed her towards the pub. "You should see the state of the boathouse most days."
"Did you guys ever end up getting another secretary?" Amanda asked as he fell into step beside her. "One who doesn't freak about flying babies?"
"Oh, sure, we got one. Not sure how long she's gonna last, though. Nathan doesn't like how she keeps rearrangin' things when he's not lookin'."
She rolled her eyes a little. "That's what she's supposed to do, isn't it? Keep on top of the paperwork mess? I think Nate's a bit fussy when it comes to secretaries - then again, he probably isn't used to having one, so having someone always around would be weird for him."
"He's gettin' better about it", Angelo offered defensively. "Even if he does keep talkin' about leather brigade stuff an' blowin' things up when she's in the room. God knows what she thinks."
"He's probably trying to test her out, see what she can handle, even subconsciously." Amanda caught the defensive tone and shrugged a little. Nathan and his quirks wasn't something Angelo was going to back down on. They reached the pub and she pulled the door open. "Here we are. Decent beer, and they have lots of shadowy corners for plotting in. Pete introduced us to this place back when we moved into the offices."
He looked around appreciatively, heading straight for one of said shadowy corners. "I'll have to remember this place. Looks good."
"Sarah and I come here for drinks pretty often - 's a good place to unwind." Amanda raised her eyebrows a little at Angelo's choice of one of the more secluded booths, but sat without a murmur. When the waitress appeared, she smiled and greeted her with a: "Hello, Amy. Usual for me, thanks."
"Pint of London Pride, sure thing, Amanda. And your friend?" Amy turned to Angelo, smiling brightly at him.
He smiled back, lounging in the booth. "Think I'll have the same, since Amanda recommends it. A pint."
Amy nodded, bestowing another smile on him and bustled off. Amanda shook her head slightly, smiling at him a little. "You do that every place we go, you know. 'S a gift."
Angelo returned his attention to her, blinking. "Do what?"
"Charm people," she replied, giving him an innocent look. "Pubs, restaurants, meetings... you've got this gift of making people like you, you know. Maybe it's a secondary power?"
He chuckled, leaning back in the booth casually. "Maybe it is. Maybe I should have Moira look into it." After a moment, he sobered slightly though the grin didn't entirely disappear. "Have to admit, 'though, this time wasn't a completely social meetin'. Got somethin' to talk to you about."
At that point Amy returned with their drinks, and Amanda waited until she'd gone before raising her eyebrow questioningly at him. "Thought there was something more to it. What's up?" Hopefully Nathan hadn't blown himself up again...
"Nothin' bad", he said hastily. "Just... been talkin' to some people - Nate, Bobby, Storm... about startin' my trainin'."
"Training?" Amanda paused in mid-sip, blinking at him. "Training for what? I thought you were going to college for the law stuff and the Elpis stuff you've pretty much got most of what you need?"
"Yeah, uh... it's not for that." He was still faintly bemused by how fast it had all turned around when he continued, "It's for the X-Men."
The look of surprise on Amanda's face was comical. "The leather brigade?" she practically squeaked. "But you always said... You never..." She floundered - she'd never thought Angelo would join the team, especially with his reaction to Nathan getting hurt so often. Hell, it had been one of the reasons he and Paige had broken up, their differing opinions of the team. "What happened? To change your mind?"
"...you know, I don't actually know." He offered a wry smile. "I was just talkin' to Nathan - before he got his powers back, he was in the gym doin' physical therapy - an' he said somethin' about my powers bein' worth more than I thought, an' I just... got to thinkin'."
"Of course they're worth more, you plonker," Amanda told him, still sounding a bit stunned. Seeking sense in her nice, reliable pint, she drank a couple of mouthfuls and started fishing in her pockets for her cigarettes - Finnigan's was one of the few New York pubs that still allowed smoking. "I just... 'S a bit of a shock, y'know? All this time you said you'd never join the team and now here you are, doing just that." Offering up a faint smile, she continued: "Then again, I never thought I'd be doing what I'm doing now either. As long as it's what you want, then I'm pleased for you. Just... be careful?" The look became a little pleading. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."
"Things change, I guess", he said with a faint smile. "Two years ago, even a year ago, I never thought I would. An' it's... I'm figurin' it out. But it can't hurt to start the trainin' - nothin' says I can't stop, Storm even said so. But I've got every plan to be careful, don't worry."
"If there's anyone who knows to be careful, it'd be you," she agreed, reassured but still a bit worried - she still had no idea if she was capable of Healing any more, and she knew how dangerous the team was from Nathan's experiences and her time as a medlab helper. Angelo an X-Man... Nope, it was still difficult to picture. Finally finding her cigarettes, she lit up and offered the pack to him. "When do you start with the training? And are you going to have time, with all the stuff you've got on your plate already?"
"Soon as they've worked out a program for me", he told her, accepting a cigarette almost automatically. "An' it'll be tight, but Storm says trainin' should be pretty flexible. Fit around the stuff I've already got, if I want it to."
"Good. School and Elpis... those are important. Not saying the team isn't, but... well, you know what I mean." Handing over her lighter, she grinned at him suddenly. "You running around in a leather outfit saving the world. Do I get pictures?"
He paused in the middle of lighting the cigarette, shooting her a half-amused Look. "If any end up existin', I'm sure you'll find a way to get hold of them."
"Just like I'll find out what trainee code name they give you," she replied, not-so-innocently.
He eyed her. "If I know you an' Nate, you'll be influencin' the vote."
She shrugged. "Not like I have that much influence with team stuff. Just Marie and Kurt. But look at it this way - can't be any sillier than Tinky Winky. Unless they maybe call you El Ka-Boing or Rubber Man or something."
"...do I get any veto rights at all?"
