xp_logs | Amanda, Angelo, and Crystal

Amanda, Angelo, and Crystal chat before Crystal's guests return home. After all, someone has to protect Nathan on this most evil of days.

So, according to Doug, 's cloudy and ten degrees in New York," Amanda announced as she rejoined Crystal and Angelo at the poolside, stuffing her cell phone back in her pocket. "Sure you want to go back today?" This last was addressed to Angelo, with a mischievous grin.

Angelo peered regretfully at the sky, but nodded. "Yeah. Someone's gotta keep Nate out of trouble on his birthday, with his record."

"His record?" Crystal asked quizzically. "Does he have a record of getting into trouble on his birthday?" She knew of Nathan's habit of constantly harming himself in one way or another, but what did that have to do with his birthday? Didn't he break his brain and swim in disgusting rivers at any point throughout the year?

Amanda exchanged a look with Angelo, and snorted. "Um, you get this one, 'Sancho'."

"He just doesn't have... the greatest luck when it comes to birthdays", Angelo answered carefully. "The last two involved physical injury or surgery, that I know of."

"Oh, I see." Was that really any different from the way Nathan generally spent his days? Wasn't he one of those frequent MedLab visitors regardless of the day or the month? "Are you going to follow him around all day to ensure that he is able to spend the day without suffering from any type of physical or mental injury and to prevent him from needing to undergo surgery?"

"If I have to", Angelo said with a shrug. "Just once, he's gonna have a good birthday."

"Plastic bubble, that's all I'm saying," Amanda chimed in cheerfully. Being on holiday - especially with Angelo - suited her. "'S not every year, and not even all the time. Just... Nate tends to throw himself into things, and when those things are saving the world and stopping supervillains, it tends to mean he gets knocked around a lot. Tho' he did have some pretty shitty luck for a couple of years there."

"TK bubble," Crystal suggested with a smile. "He can do that. Maybe he should encase himself in one in order to attempt to prevent most of the injuries that seem to constantly befall him as a member of a group that prides itself on frequently traveling the globe in order to save the world and stop villains of all sorts."

"I'd suggest it, but I think he'd throw things at me", Angelo said, laughing and plainly not really meaning it.

"With his brain, even." Amanda leaned back in her chair, tipping her face up to the sun. She didn't tan much, but she was certainly less pale that she had been. "I'd suggest his very own personal shielding spell, but I think I could only manage that sort of power in China. New York's not bad - better than San Francisco, any way - but yeah, that's sort of beyond me. Tho' I think the lesson's starting to sink in that he's not as young or as unbreakable as he was." She opened her eyes and glanced over at Crystal. "Thanks for the invite, again. Sorry to be cutting things a bit short, but it's been a really nice time."

Crystal nodded to both Amanda and Angelo with a smile. "It has been my pleasure to have both of you here. I hope that you will return again. Maybe next time," she added with a completely innocent look on her face, "as nice as your accomodations were, you will even want to spend more time outdoors than inside one room."

Angelo choked on his drink, and took a few seconds to recover, smiling up at Crystal when he had. "I'll be glad to come back. An' yeah... maybe we will."

For her part, Amanda was quietly snickering as Angelo choked. Reaching over to squeeze his hand, she gave Crystal an unashamedly cheeky grin. "We figured staying in the one room was less embarassing for all concerned," she replied easily. "But yeah, there'll definitely be a next time. 'S a nice little place you've got here."

Of course it wasn't a "little" place, as all three of them were quite well aware. But it was, as Crystal had told Amanda three months ago at Silver, home. "Thank you. Perhaps next time it will be for a longer stay. Estela is ready to teleport you back to the mansion whenever you are ready to go protect Nathan from himself, I mean, from the various things that somehow cause him harm, of course." Oh no, there was absolutely no underlying attempt at humor there, no flicker of a smile whatsover.