Gossip: Amanda, Doug - Wednesday evening
Feb. 14th, 2007 07:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAmanda and Doug drop by Finnegan's after work to decompress. And gossip. Lots of things come up.
"It looks like someone exploded a feather bed out there," Amanda mock-complained, brushing snow out of her hair as Doug held the door of Finnegan's open for her. "Must be some carry-over from that storm in Kansas."
Valentine's Day could have been a lot worse, Doug reflected. Given his druthers, he probably would have spent a few days hunched behind his computer moping. But between Mark's office prank idea and now Amanda dragging him out to Finnegan's, moping about hadn't been an option. He scurried into the warmth of the pub quickly on Amanda's
heels and began the ritual dance of de-coat-ing. "It's sure blowing hard out there," he agreed.
To be 100% honest, Amanda hadn't even realised what day it was - Valentine's had been something she'd gotten into because of Manuel and living at the school. Although not realising what day it was had been a good thing - none of her Valentine's experiences had been something she wanted to remember. She'd just wanted company, and to not spend the night working, and if she needed that, then Doug did in spades. Nodding at the guy behind the bar (who immediately began pouring their usual drinks), she chose a booth at random and hung her coat on the hook provided before sliding into her seat.
"Thanks for coming out, all the same," she told him as he followed suit. "Couldn't face going back to the brownstone just yet - I've been spending way too much time in there."
"You're not the only one," Doug admitted candidly as he trailed his fingers across the whorls and lines of the old wooden table. "Thanks for dragging me out," he said with a weak smile.
"Your turn next time," she told him with a grin, finishing unwrapping her scarf with a florish that set her hair to crackling with static. "'Sides, it's been an age. We haven't really done much since Christmas and that's way too fucking long."
Doug's face closed off slightly at the mention of Christmas before brightening at their drink order being set in front of them. "Cheers," he said.
"Cheers," she replied, raising an eyebrow at the flicker of non-expression. Things had gotten weird during the lockdown, and she couldn't believe he was still mad at her for the teapot thing. "Look, Doug, if you're still pissed off about that truth or dare game, I'm sorry, all right? We were all drunk, and it seemed like a funny idea at the time. I get stupid sometimes when I'm drunk, you know that."
Doug waved his hand in negation. "It's not that," he said. "It was... something else that happened over Christmas." He paused, then realized that the likelihood of Amanda letting it go at that was slim to none. "Remember how I...y'know, with Angie?" he asked quietly. "I was...sort of a bastard to her in the interest of not talking about
it. I apologized, and she accepted it, but..." He shrugged and took another sip of his drink.
The look she gave him was incredulous. "Was that why she was doing the hermit thing a while ago?" she asked, shaking her head. "Honestly, Doug, you're almost more clueless about this whole thing than I am. You're still in love with her, so you act the prick to her? At least you apologised, but for fuck's sake..."
Doug threw up his hands. "What was I supposed to say? She asked me what it was, and I panicked. What, you think saying 'yeah, well, turns out I'm still in love with you' would have been a good idea? She was with Captain Smarmodon of the SS Smarmasorus Rex!"
"How about just 'I was drunk and got carried away'?" Amanda retorted. "It would have been better than whatever it was you said to piss her off that much." Then a giggle broke through. "Captain Smarmodon?"
Doug sighed. "See the part where I panicked. And yeah. Captain Smarmodon. Because he totally is. Not a bad guy," he allowed, "but kinda smarmy."
"You need more of Pete's lessons in not losing your head," she suggested, with a slight grin. "And you realise I'm not going to be able to think of him as anything else now." She giggled again. "Thank fuck he and Angie aren't seeing each other any more, otherwise I might have burst out laughing at him in the hall."
Doug nodded distractedly, then stopped abruptly. "Wait, they what?" he asked, bewildered. He hadn't seen Garrison around the office recently, but he had just figured the Canadian was picking Angie up at her apartment or something.
"Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. Angie and me went out for drinks and she told me they'd called it off. Said it wasn't working out." Amanda blinked. "You mean you didn't know?"
Doug snorted. "What, you think she would tell me, especially after I was a bastard to her?" He snorted again and affected his best Wayne's World impression. "Tchyah, and monkeys might fly out my butt."
She kicked him very lightly under the table. "What, you don't read everyone's email? I would, if I were a tech guru like you," she said, not at all serious. "But yeah, Angie's footloose and fancy free again. Could be a chance for you to start getting back in her good graces, 'specially if she forgave you for Acts of Bastardry."
"Get back in her good graces." Doug shook his head stubbornly. "I shouldn't be going around with some big ulterior motive like that." He was trying to swallow the jumble of emotions that the news of Angie and Garrison's breakup had stirred up in him, but his tight-lipped expression was fairly easy to read for someone as close to him as Amanda had become.
This time she did roll her eyes. "Ulterior... for fuck's sake, Doug. You love her. Showing her that isn't having an ulterior motive, it's that being honest about your feelings thing you're always ribbing me about." She reached over the touched his forearm. "I don't know why she and Kane broke up, but maybe things aren't as hopeless as they look."
Doug's hand clenched and unclenched, the muscles of his forearm bunching and relaxing under Amanda's hand. "She's moved on," he said shortly. "Can we please just stop talking about it, Amanda?" he pleaded quietly.
She took pity on him, fully aware of the hypocrisy in her pushing him. "Sure," she said, squeezing his arm before pulling back and reaching for her beer instead. "Nice prank you and Mark pulled today. Those little gadgets were bloody brilliant."
"Mostly Mark's idea," Doug demurred, grateful for the change in subject. "I just supplied a bit of programming and legwork."
"See, I knew it was him what picked that song. You've got better taste than that." She chuckled. "Maybe Mark should hide one of those things in his underwear or something, so he has an emergency music stash?"
Doug sipped at his beer pensively. "That's actually a really good idea," he mused. "I remember Alison had a couple one-shot noisemaker things built into her uniform for a quick power boost, this could be sort of the same thing."
"Just don't mention Alison's name if you suggest it to him - our Boy Dazzler twitches whenever the Unholy One's mentioned." Amanda paused, then added thoughtfully. "Probably 'cause I call him Boy Dazzler."
"I can see where that might do it, yeah," Doug replied with a chuckle. "So how're things with you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not so bad. Working my arse off, like everyone does. Training with Wanda's going well, and I even managed to come out of a session with Logan last week with only one bruise. You know, the usual."
"And what's this about a horrid date you went on?" Doug prodded. "Inquiring minds want to know. C'mon, let's have the gory details."
"Well, not so much 'horrid' as 'awkward as hell'," Amanda elaborated. "Bloke I chatted to for a bit down at the coffee place of a morning, he asked me out for a drink, I decided to go and see how it went. Only conversation's difficult when you can't actually talk about anything 'cause it's either top secret or fucked up. Or both. It turned out he was more interested in jumping me any way - he spent most of the hour talking to me bloody breasts - so I called it a night early and run away like a big girl's blouse."
"Need me to make technology hate him?" Doug offered, remembering when Amanda had offered to put a hex on Garrison for him. He chuckled a bit at the irony of it.
"Tempting, but nah. He was just being a typical guy, and the awkward wasn't his fault. I should've known better than to try going out with someone that normal. Wouldn't have, only I thought it might..." She trailled off, until Doug gave her That Look. "I thought it might help. With the whole getting over Angelo thing."
Doug shook his head gently. "You don't just get over someone like that," he said, snapping his fingers. "I mean, look at me," he said self-deprecatingly.
"I know, I know," she half-groaned. "But it's getting to the point where I'm avoiding him 'cause I feel weird around him, and busy as he is, he's gunna notice. And ask about it. Then the shite will really hit the fan, since I can't lie to him and he'll know and stop talking to me." All this came out in one breath, and she slumped at the end of it, staring moodily into her pint. "Bugger," she said with feeling. "I'm such a fucking coward. I should just up and tell him, same as I'm always saying to you."
"The thought had occurred to me," Doug said dryly, before his face softened and he lay a hand over Amanda's and squeezed reassuringly. "What a pair we make, huh?"
"Insane, both of us. And nothing'll change unless we make it change," she agreed, then finished her beer, setting the glass down with a determined thump. "Right, first thing when he gets back from this trip with Dom. 'M gunna tell him."
Doug burst out in a sudden fit of coughing as he swallowed some of his beer wrong. Amanda's resolve had startled him. "Good for you," he said honestly. He would have liked to mirror her determination, but the thought of admitting his feelings to Marie-Ange just made him feel sick to his stomach.
She chuckled at him and handed him a napkin. "Here. No drowning allowed," seh told him. Her grin turned a little fixed, though, as she realised what she'd done. "Bloody hell, I can't believe I just said that." Glancing around, she signalled the waitress. "I need another beer. Or possibly shots."
"It looks like someone exploded a feather bed out there," Amanda mock-complained, brushing snow out of her hair as Doug held the door of Finnegan's open for her. "Must be some carry-over from that storm in Kansas."
Valentine's Day could have been a lot worse, Doug reflected. Given his druthers, he probably would have spent a few days hunched behind his computer moping. But between Mark's office prank idea and now Amanda dragging him out to Finnegan's, moping about hadn't been an option. He scurried into the warmth of the pub quickly on Amanda's
heels and began the ritual dance of de-coat-ing. "It's sure blowing hard out there," he agreed.
To be 100% honest, Amanda hadn't even realised what day it was - Valentine's had been something she'd gotten into because of Manuel and living at the school. Although not realising what day it was had been a good thing - none of her Valentine's experiences had been something she wanted to remember. She'd just wanted company, and to not spend the night working, and if she needed that, then Doug did in spades. Nodding at the guy behind the bar (who immediately began pouring their usual drinks), she chose a booth at random and hung her coat on the hook provided before sliding into her seat.
"Thanks for coming out, all the same," she told him as he followed suit. "Couldn't face going back to the brownstone just yet - I've been spending way too much time in there."
"You're not the only one," Doug admitted candidly as he trailed his fingers across the whorls and lines of the old wooden table. "Thanks for dragging me out," he said with a weak smile.
"Your turn next time," she told him with a grin, finishing unwrapping her scarf with a florish that set her hair to crackling with static. "'Sides, it's been an age. We haven't really done much since Christmas and that's way too fucking long."
Doug's face closed off slightly at the mention of Christmas before brightening at their drink order being set in front of them. "Cheers," he said.
"Cheers," she replied, raising an eyebrow at the flicker of non-expression. Things had gotten weird during the lockdown, and she couldn't believe he was still mad at her for the teapot thing. "Look, Doug, if you're still pissed off about that truth or dare game, I'm sorry, all right? We were all drunk, and it seemed like a funny idea at the time. I get stupid sometimes when I'm drunk, you know that."
Doug waved his hand in negation. "It's not that," he said. "It was... something else that happened over Christmas." He paused, then realized that the likelihood of Amanda letting it go at that was slim to none. "Remember how I...y'know, with Angie?" he asked quietly. "I was...sort of a bastard to her in the interest of not talking about
it. I apologized, and she accepted it, but..." He shrugged and took another sip of his drink.
The look she gave him was incredulous. "Was that why she was doing the hermit thing a while ago?" she asked, shaking her head. "Honestly, Doug, you're almost more clueless about this whole thing than I am. You're still in love with her, so you act the prick to her? At least you apologised, but for fuck's sake..."
Doug threw up his hands. "What was I supposed to say? She asked me what it was, and I panicked. What, you think saying 'yeah, well, turns out I'm still in love with you' would have been a good idea? She was with Captain Smarmodon of the SS Smarmasorus Rex!"
"How about just 'I was drunk and got carried away'?" Amanda retorted. "It would have been better than whatever it was you said to piss her off that much." Then a giggle broke through. "Captain Smarmodon?"
Doug sighed. "See the part where I panicked. And yeah. Captain Smarmodon. Because he totally is. Not a bad guy," he allowed, "but kinda smarmy."
"You need more of Pete's lessons in not losing your head," she suggested, with a slight grin. "And you realise I'm not going to be able to think of him as anything else now." She giggled again. "Thank fuck he and Angie aren't seeing each other any more, otherwise I might have burst out laughing at him in the hall."
Doug nodded distractedly, then stopped abruptly. "Wait, they what?" he asked, bewildered. He hadn't seen Garrison around the office recently, but he had just figured the Canadian was picking Angie up at her apartment or something.
"Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. Angie and me went out for drinks and she told me they'd called it off. Said it wasn't working out." Amanda blinked. "You mean you didn't know?"
Doug snorted. "What, you think she would tell me, especially after I was a bastard to her?" He snorted again and affected his best Wayne's World impression. "Tchyah, and monkeys might fly out my butt."
She kicked him very lightly under the table. "What, you don't read everyone's email? I would, if I were a tech guru like you," she said, not at all serious. "But yeah, Angie's footloose and fancy free again. Could be a chance for you to start getting back in her good graces, 'specially if she forgave you for Acts of Bastardry."
"Get back in her good graces." Doug shook his head stubbornly. "I shouldn't be going around with some big ulterior motive like that." He was trying to swallow the jumble of emotions that the news of Angie and Garrison's breakup had stirred up in him, but his tight-lipped expression was fairly easy to read for someone as close to him as Amanda had become.
This time she did roll her eyes. "Ulterior... for fuck's sake, Doug. You love her. Showing her that isn't having an ulterior motive, it's that being honest about your feelings thing you're always ribbing me about." She reached over the touched his forearm. "I don't know why she and Kane broke up, but maybe things aren't as hopeless as they look."
Doug's hand clenched and unclenched, the muscles of his forearm bunching and relaxing under Amanda's hand. "She's moved on," he said shortly. "Can we please just stop talking about it, Amanda?" he pleaded quietly.
She took pity on him, fully aware of the hypocrisy in her pushing him. "Sure," she said, squeezing his arm before pulling back and reaching for her beer instead. "Nice prank you and Mark pulled today. Those little gadgets were bloody brilliant."
"Mostly Mark's idea," Doug demurred, grateful for the change in subject. "I just supplied a bit of programming and legwork."
"See, I knew it was him what picked that song. You've got better taste than that." She chuckled. "Maybe Mark should hide one of those things in his underwear or something, so he has an emergency music stash?"
Doug sipped at his beer pensively. "That's actually a really good idea," he mused. "I remember Alison had a couple one-shot noisemaker things built into her uniform for a quick power boost, this could be sort of the same thing."
"Just don't mention Alison's name if you suggest it to him - our Boy Dazzler twitches whenever the Unholy One's mentioned." Amanda paused, then added thoughtfully. "Probably 'cause I call him Boy Dazzler."
"I can see where that might do it, yeah," Doug replied with a chuckle. "So how're things with you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Not so bad. Working my arse off, like everyone does. Training with Wanda's going well, and I even managed to come out of a session with Logan last week with only one bruise. You know, the usual."
"And what's this about a horrid date you went on?" Doug prodded. "Inquiring minds want to know. C'mon, let's have the gory details."
"Well, not so much 'horrid' as 'awkward as hell'," Amanda elaborated. "Bloke I chatted to for a bit down at the coffee place of a morning, he asked me out for a drink, I decided to go and see how it went. Only conversation's difficult when you can't actually talk about anything 'cause it's either top secret or fucked up. Or both. It turned out he was more interested in jumping me any way - he spent most of the hour talking to me bloody breasts - so I called it a night early and run away like a big girl's blouse."
"Need me to make technology hate him?" Doug offered, remembering when Amanda had offered to put a hex on Garrison for him. He chuckled a bit at the irony of it.
"Tempting, but nah. He was just being a typical guy, and the awkward wasn't his fault. I should've known better than to try going out with someone that normal. Wouldn't have, only I thought it might..." She trailled off, until Doug gave her That Look. "I thought it might help. With the whole getting over Angelo thing."
Doug shook his head gently. "You don't just get over someone like that," he said, snapping his fingers. "I mean, look at me," he said self-deprecatingly.
"I know, I know," she half-groaned. "But it's getting to the point where I'm avoiding him 'cause I feel weird around him, and busy as he is, he's gunna notice. And ask about it. Then the shite will really hit the fan, since I can't lie to him and he'll know and stop talking to me." All this came out in one breath, and she slumped at the end of it, staring moodily into her pint. "Bugger," she said with feeling. "I'm such a fucking coward. I should just up and tell him, same as I'm always saying to you."
"The thought had occurred to me," Doug said dryly, before his face softened and he lay a hand over Amanda's and squeezed reassuringly. "What a pair we make, huh?"
"Insane, both of us. And nothing'll change unless we make it change," she agreed, then finished her beer, setting the glass down with a determined thump. "Right, first thing when he gets back from this trip with Dom. 'M gunna tell him."
Doug burst out in a sudden fit of coughing as he swallowed some of his beer wrong. Amanda's resolve had startled him. "Good for you," he said honestly. He would have liked to mirror her determination, but the thought of admitting his feelings to Marie-Ange just made him feel sick to his stomach.
She chuckled at him and handed him a napkin. "Here. No drowning allowed," seh told him. Her grin turned a little fixed, though, as she realised what she'd done. "Bloody hell, I can't believe I just said that." Glancing around, she signalled the waitress. "I need another beer. Or possibly shots."
