xp_logs | Angelo and Doug, very backdated

After Voodoo Child but before Sound of Silence, Doug waylays Angelo leaving the brownstone and makes him go for Mexican food. Admissions are made, advice is given, and Angelo even manages to start the conversation off.

Angelo had told Forge he'd try to talk about it if he needed help, but that was proving easier said than done. He was at least getting out of the suite, though, to keep up his usual routine and to visit Amanda - even if he left without spending the night every time. It was one of those visits now, and he slipped out of her apartment and headed for the main door.

Marie-Ange was very worried about Angelo and Amanda. So was Doug, and they had discussed it at length a few times. Doug knew about Angelo's visits to Amanda, so by carefully planned "coincidence" he was down in the lobby checking his mail when Angelo came through on his way out.

Falling in beside the somber Hispanic, Doug jingled his keys. "Mama Lupe's. I'm buying," he told Angelo in a friendly voice that belied the fact that Angelo didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Angelo froze in the act of reaching for the door handle, then turned to blink at the other man. "Uh... you are?" He hadn't missed the determination audible under the friendliness.

"I am." There were several reasons that Doug felt this was a good idea. One, Angelo was Mexican, so Mama Lupe's cooking was very reminiscent of home for him. Two, Doug knew that eating spicy food helped to shake off depression. And three, Marie-Ange had promised bribery. Doug was hoping for outfits.

"...okay, then. Lunch at Mama Lupe's it is." This was delivered with a slight shrug of acceptance, if with no real enthusiasm.

Doug suppressed a sigh. Angelo was doing that 'noncommittal conversation where I pretend I'm not really moping' thing again. He couldn't really call the other man on it, but rather just hope that he eventually felt like talking things out or something.

***************

Angelo was picking at his food. It was unusual for him, but it was the only word for it. He was also pretending not to notice Mama Lupe watching him from the kitchen door with a mixture of concern and disapproval, and Doug doing the same from the other side of the table.

"So..." he said after a short silence. "How's Angie?"

A genuine conversational opener, even one as lame as Angelo's, was a good start. "She's doing okay. Constantly rebuilding some part of her apartment like always," he said with an indulgent chuckle. He didn't always understand her need to be fiddling with some aspect of her living space (or him), but it made her happy.

That seemed to catch the other young man's interest, at least temporarily. "Actually rebuildin'? She's allowed to do that? Or just movin' stuff around?"

"Mostly just remodeling. For the big stuff she has to get permits and stuff, but she did it that once with a wall that was offending her or something." Doug crooked a wry grin. "How's Amanda?" he took the opportunity to segue, his voice deceptively casual.

There was a fleeting pause before Angelo answered - it might not have been overly suspicious to anyone but Doug. "She's... recoverin'. Doin' a lot of research on Charlie's work, for her powers."

Doug stifled a wince at the mention of Charlie, and paused for a moment, unsure of what to say. He vaguely remembered meeting Charlie in passing once or twice, and he'd seemed like a nice guy. Amanda had taken his death hard, and Doug wasn't sure how studying his work for her powers might be affecting her. "How about you?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, I'm okay." It was pure, automatic bravado, of course. "Or, you know... gettin' by. It's been quiet. Takin' some time off the team."

"Really." Doug's eyes widened at Angelo's pronouncement. He was more than a little startled that Angelo would take a leave of absence, but it made sense given how drained he looked, bravado-fueled reassurances aside.

"Yeah, I, uh... wasn't in any physical shape for it right after, an' I've got some stuff to think about before I unbench myself. I'll get there."

"What kind of stuff?" Doug asked with friendly concern. "You still doing therapy?" Which reminded him that he was probably well overdue for a session with Sofia himself. He hadn't exactly dealt well with the events in New Orleans.

"Yeah, with Jack", was the quick casual response. "An' stuff like... if I'm really as cut out for this whole thing as I thought I was."

Doug could do casual. "Good, therapy's a good thing," he told Angelo. "And if you don't think you're cut out for the X-Men, it's not the end of the world. Just because you graduate from Xavier's doesn't mean you have to be an X-Man. I mean, I think you do a lot of good with Elpis."

"I know we do. An' I'll never give that up. But I just... don't know about the team anymore. I think I had some wrong ideas about what it means." He looked down at his plate.

"You shouldn't feel bad about that," Doug said firmly. "Or about having wrong ideas about the team. We all have wrong ideas about things, practically every day. Some are bigger than others, but all that it means is we're not perfect. I mean, I had some wrong ideas about how Kevlar works, and I'm lucky that it only left me with an astonishing collection of bruises." He looked across the table until Angelo looked up to meet his eyes. "So don't worry about taking some time off to sort yourself out. Really, it's the mature adult thing to do."

Waving a hand, he picked up his fork to shovel more food into his mouth. "So, subject change due to incipient emo-muppetry," he declared with a wink. "Let's talk about baseball. And how the Colorado Rockies are clearly superior to that travesty of a team known as the LA Dodgers..."