Cain and Angelo, Friday night

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During Nathan's dinner party, Cain and Angelo both go out to catch some air, and it becomes obvious that Cain's opinion of Angelo has changed over the years.



Cain felt more than a little awkward in the boathouse, noticing all the little ways that Moira and Nathan had made it into a family home, even with most of the ground floor redesigned into the working area for Elpis. Thankfully the rain earlier in the week had subsided, and he was able to stake out a spot on the patio without getting drenched. With a bottle of beer in hand, he looked out over the lake and took a drink before smiling at the scattering of brightly-colored toys lining the walkway down to the dock.

Angelo had already claimed his favourite spot on the dock for a cigarette, feet curled under him rather than dangling in the water today - it really was getting too cold for that. He looked round when he heard footsteps on the patio, and raised a hand in greeting.

Raising his bottle, Cain sat gingerly on one of the wooden deck chairs. While Nate was a big guy, these chairs weren't exactly designed for a guy weighing a quarter-ton to just flop onto them. "For an old grunt, Nate's not a bad hand at putting together some of the hoity-toity fancy stuff, ain't he?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yeah, not bad at all", Angelo said with a grin, for the sake of conversation. "Not a half bad cook, either."

"Better him than Moira," Cain said with an exaggerated frown. "The things that woman can digest ain't meant for beast or man." He laughed at his own joke, then looked over at Angelo. "So, looks like you're taking over for Nate on the 'juggling responsibilities' front. Humanitarian work, trainee stuff, now teaching self-defense to the kids? Lot of responsibility."

"You forgot college", he observed dryly. "An' I have thought about it. But the self-defence's only two class hours a week an' a little bit of prep. Team trainin' fits in around the rest of it, Storm made a point of sayin' that when we talked... so I can deal."

"Definitely a lot of responsibility," Cain repeated, nodding slightly. Despite Angelo's casual exterior, he knew the young man had to be working his ass off to handle it all. While Xavier made a point of taking in all kinds, more often than not the school spat them back out just like they got brought in. But not this one, he decided.

"It's gonna put a lot of pressure on you," he finally said."Lot of late nights, lot of stress. Lot of folks trusting you here, be a lot of those same folks let down if you wrecked that trust." Like Logan did, just like I said he would, Cain left unspoken.

That got much more of a serious look, and a few minutes' silence. Finally, "We talkin' about the self-defence classes here? Or the team?"

Cain folded his hands, looking past Angelo out to the lake. "Same responsibility, really. Folks trusting in you to do a job and keep them safe at the same time. I know when I first got here, I had kind of a low opinion of you an' where you came from." He shook his head slowly. "Ain't going to apologize for it, you're usually the first person to own up to the kind of stuff you done. But whatever it is Chuck's teaching here, seems the important parts sunk in. You ain't just some barrio kid now. Somehow you wound up takin' on a man's responsibilities, and ain't doin' half bad." Cain laughed, taking another drink of his beer. "Where'd that come from?"

Angelo shrugged, reaching for the bottle tucked down next to him with his free hand. "Hell, when I came here, I don't much like the kid I was. First year or so, some of the stuff I did, an' God, those posts on the journals..." He winced expressively. "As for the responsibilities... yeah, it's the Professor, an' the school, an' Nathan."

"Y'got some good influences here," Cain agreed. "You sure you can live up to 'em?"

"I'm doin' my best", he said calmly. "An' I think I've pretty well managed it so far."

Cain pondered that for a moment. "Good enough," he said, tapping his bottle lightly against Angelo's. "One word of advice, though. Don't skip out on the sleep. Those kids'll run you ragged."

Angelo chuckled. "Only so many hours in the day. But a full night's sleep before the self-defence classes, check."

The sound of a dropped plate from the house made both men turn their heads, and Cain laughed first. "And right on cue. Go on, Sancho. Your boy probably needs rescuing from the Redhead Brigade."

He shot a half-exasperated, half-affectionate look up towards the boathouse, and pushed himself to his feet. "Off to baby duty I go, then. See you 'round, Cain."